Link: Nick Saban vs Bear Bryant: Who Is The Better Alabama Coach?

hacksaw830

2nd Team
Jan 20, 2007
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Re: Nick Saban vs Bear Bryant: Who Is The Best Alabama Coach?

Don't know but it be one he11 of a football game!
 

TideFan in AU

Hall of Fame
It is hard to compare eras for sure. However, if CNS coached in a era that polls awarded the NC after the regular season AND after the postseason, CNS would have won NC's in 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2014, and 2015. '64 and '73 would not be NC's in today's football, so if you count them the same way 2 of CPB's were awarded (being ranked #1 by the AP at end of the regular season), CNS has won 6 in 9 years, and 7 overall.

The other aspect is the SECCG and BCS/CFP CG's. CPB's 6 NC's ended with a win over the No. 9 team in 1961, a loss to the No. 5 team in ’64, a win over the No. 3 team in ’65, a loss to the No. 3 team in ’73, a win over the a No. 1 team in ’78 (Penn State in the Sugar Bowl) and a win over the No. 6 team in ’79. '78 was the only time CPB had to play the #1 or #2 team to actually win the NC. CNS has done that 5 times. In fact, CNS is the winningest Coach in CFB history against AP top 3 teams with a record of 13-8. Lou Holtz is 2nd with a 12-15 record, and Bowden is 3rd with a 10-18 record.

I'll just say this, if it CPB wasn't so beloved by us as Bama fans, it seems like it would be an easy choice if you go by numbers alone. I'll also say that some people are totally missing just how impressive this run really is because of the shadow of CPB...
 

ReturnToGlory

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Nov 22, 2006
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If Coach Bryant had played against the #2 team each and every year they won the title, he may have beat them also. You just never know.

If the national championship had not been handed out after the regular season, maybe they have a little extra motivation in the bowl game and they win.

It truly was an exhibition back then and we know how hard of a time, we've had in those bowl games recently.
 

81usaf92

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Apr 26, 2008
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If we are really comparing I would say I'm leaning toward CNS only because the SECW and the SEC in general has never been at the level that it has in history. I think the only people in CPB's way was ND, Texas, and the AP pollsters. But I still think that the one thing that resonates loudest is one national championship that CPB didn't win, but it's not a team that he coached at bama. It's the one he coached at Kentucky that beat Oklahoma in the orange bowl. Kentucky has been nowhere close before that or since. But I still lean toward CNS because of how the conference has evolved in competition.
 

G-VilleTider

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Aug 17, 2006
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Re: Nick Saban vs Bear Bryant: Who Is The Best Alabama Coach?

Most of us on here have witnessed the 2 greatest college coaches ever. Enough said. Who will remember who coached IU basketball after Coach Bob Knight? Who came after Lombardi? Everyone knows Coach Bryant and Coach Saban. RTR
I do and he played at Alabama and is the coach at Texas Southern University: Mike Davis. Or did I miss it?
You ran smack dab into a tree while never finding the forest. ;)
 

im4uainva

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Jul 3, 2011
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Re: Nick Saban vs Bear Bryant: Who Is The Best Alabama Coach?

Apples and Oranges...and I like them both equally. Twins with different personalities and abilities, but both equally successful in their endeavors.

And that's all I got to say about that.


Roll, National Champions, Roll!
 

alwayshavebeen

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Sep 22, 2013
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Re: Nick Saban vs Bear Bryant: Who Is The Best Alabama Coach?

Aren't we in "Elvis" vs "The Beatles" territory?
1) Being compared to Elvis is totally unfair to the other party(s).

2) Alabama has been fortunate to have to the two greatest college football coaches in the history of the game. Not Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Michigan, Ohio St...Nobody.

3) Equally important, this translates to having the greatest college football program in history with no end in sight. Props to Coach Stallings for filling a void in the middle.
 

B1GTide

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Apr 13, 2012
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Re: Nick Saban vs Bear Bryant: Who Is The Best Alabama Coach?

A thought - I sincerely believe that Coach Bryant would have achieved as much anywhere - literally anywhere. Saban needed the Alabama brand to reach this level. He would have won at LSU, but not like this.
 

TideMan09

Hall of Fame
Jan 17, 2009
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Re: Nick Saban vs Bear Bryant: Who Is The Best Alabama Coach?

All I know it's a great problem to have this question even asked..As for who I think it the better of the two..I'm resolved to think they are of equal greatness from a different time & different Era's of college football..They both have dominated college football during their era's of college football & have no equals during their time coaching (and still coaching)..There will never be a definite answer to the question or I don't think there ever will be..

The one thing they have in common that's without doubt the absolute "Greatest" in the history of college football is The University Of Alabama..
 

81usaf92

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A thought - I sincerely believe that Coach Bryant would have achieved as much anywhere - literally anywhere. Saban needed the Alabama brand to reach this level. He would have won at LSU, but not like this.
CNS went to LSU and we are still feeling their prescense now because of it. Lsu pre Saban was more of a once in a decade team and the other 9 years were mixed between mediocry and horrible teams. I think if we are going on the pre-Alabama route you have to throw out CPB's Maryland and aTm teams along with CNS's MSU and Toledo schools, and compare Kentucky and LSU because they were the best outside of Alabama that both possess. I will say the edge to CPB only because Kentucky is still worse than the LSU job, and to win a SEC title and win the orange bowl there is one of the biggest feats ever. But I think what goes against your argument about CPB vs CNS is that CPB had a hard time beating the elite coaches of his time where CNS is atleast tied with them. CPB never beat Ara, had a bad record against Royal, and has an edge on Osborne. CNS is tied in matchups with both stoops and Meyer, and has big advantage on Les. The only elite coach of his time that he never faced was Pete Carroll unless you wanna throw Chip Kelly in there. I think CNS could've gone second state schools like UCLA and aTm and realistically produced 2-3 in 9 years at those places because the competition of non sec conferences outside the big 10 is laughable with few exceptions here and there.

I think the Alabama brand has something to do with it but the question remains" why did it take nearly 30 years to return, and why from 82-2007 did auburn have 2 undefeated season vs our 1." Also Alabama was a brand before CPB came. Alabama and Tennessee were the premier brands of the south. Alabama fell off, but was still a sleeping giant waiting for someone to wake it.

But then again it's a hard question that probably should be shelved until the Saban era ends, and all the emotions positive and negative wear down.
 
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Sabanizer

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CNS went to LSU and we are still feeling their prescense now because of it. Lsu pre Saban was more of a once in a decade team and the other 9 years were mixed between mediocry and horrible teams. I think if we are going on the pre-Alabama route you have to throw out CPB's Maryland and aTm teams along with CNS's MSU and Toledo schools, and compare Kentucky and LSU because they were the best outside of Alabama that both possess. I will say the edge to CPB only because Kentucky is still worse than the LSU job, and to win a SEC title and win the orange bowl there is one of the biggest feats ever. But I think what goes against your argument about CPB vs CNS is that CPB had a hard time beating the elite coaches of his time where CNS is atleast tied with them. CPB never beat Ara, had a bad record against Royal, and has an edge on Osborne. CNS is tied in matchups with both stoops and Meyer, and has big advantage on Les. The only elite coach of his time that he never faced was Pete Carroll unless you wanna throw Chip Kelly in there. I think CNS could've gone second state schools like UCLA and aTm and realistically produced 2-3 in 9 years at those places because the competition of non sec conferences outside the big 10 is laughable with few exceptions here and there.

I think the Alabama brand has something to do with it but the question remains" why did it take nearly 30 years to return, and why from 82-2007 did auburn have 2 undefeated season vs our 1." Also Alabama was a brand before CPB came. Alabama and Tennessee were the premier brands of the south. Alabama fell off, but was still a sleeping giant waiting for someone to wake it.

But then again it's a hard question that probably should be shelved until the Saban era ends, and all the emotions positive and negative wear down.
You make some good points, Shaq came out today and said that "that could have been us". I disagree because of some of your points. Probation aside, Bama is a machine like no other, and it's easier for any coach to win here than LSU. Not to take anything away from Coach Saban, more to balance that our program plays a vital role, that I doubt he could have ever won 4 NC's in a 7 year stretch at LSU. He is the greatest coach at the greatest school to succeed. And you have to throw away our probation days and look at the big picture.
 

crimsonaudio

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Re: Nick Saban vs Bear Bryant: Who Is The Best Alabama Coach?

Can we just stop a second and realize how incredible it is to even ask this question?
Seriously - our two best coaches have won a combined 10 National Championships at Alabama (11 total) - which is 2 (and 3) more than the next highest school (Notre Dame)...
 

CrimsonJag

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Apr 9, 2001
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Re: Nick Saban vs Bear Bryant: Who Is The Best Alabama Coach?

Not to be obtuse, but I've never understood the incessant need to compare the two, especially when it comes to our own fan base.

Why can't we just appreciate what we had, and what we have, without a comparison that is based on opinion in the first place?
 

81usaf92

TideFans Legend
Apr 26, 2008
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Not to be obtuse, but I've never understood the incessant need to compare the two, especially when it comes to our own fan base.

Why can't we just appreciate what we had, and what we have, without a comparison that is based on opinion in the first place?
Well it's like what Cowboys fans go through old school Landry vs new school jimmi. I don't see any issue of comparing them when CNS is done for one particular reason, and it's because what CPB did was said to never be replicated and no coach will ever be as great as the bear by so many older bama fans.

But maybe the question should be "what was a more dominant era in Alabama football?"
 

dvldog

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Sep 20, 2005
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I could offer an opinion but then everybody has one :). I'll just say that for me CPB is an icon that transcends coaching. Not sure CNS can ever get there; nor does he probably care (and good on him).
 

AlexanderFan

Hall of Fame
Jul 23, 2004
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Saban. Hands down. Bryant drove an automatic, Saban is driving a stick in terms of running a program. If you can drive a stick you can drive an automatic, the reverse is not necessarily true.


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