Bear Bryant Or Nick Saban, Who Is The Top Coach In NCAA Football History?

By Jordan Long

On Monday, the University of Alabama knocked off the University of Georgia in the National Championship Game 26-23 in overtime. The win gives Alabama Head Coach Nick Saban his 6th championship, tying him with Bear Bryant. This begs the question, who is the better coach between the 2?

Bear Bryant was one of the top NCAA coaches in his time. He coached for 38 years for Maryland, Kentucky, Texas A&M, and Alabama. His teams were a combined 323-85-17, a winning percentage of .780 but his overall record in bowl games is 15-12-2.

Bryant made his name while coaching the University of Alabama from 1958 to 1982. In his 25 years with the Tide, he was an impressive 232-46-9, a winning percentage of .824. Alabama missed one Bowl game under him in 1958 when they were 5-4-1. In the bowl games, Alabama was 12-10-2.

During Bryant’s era, there wasn’t a college playoff let alone a national title game. National Championships were determined by the AP poll. Alabama finished 1st in the AP poll 6 times and that gave Bryant his championships, the most for any coach when he stepped away.

Nick Saban has 6 championships, the same as Bear Bryant. Saban has coached 22 years for Toledo, Michigan State, LSU, and Alabama. His teams are combined 223-62-1, a winning percentage of .781 which isn’t much higher then Bryant. In Bowl games, his teams are 11-9.

Saban has been with Alabama since 2007. They have not missed a bowl game under him with record of 132-20, a winning percentage of .868, a little better than Bryant’s.

Alabama appeared in 3 BCS championships with Saban winning all 3 of them. That was all due to computer polls seeding them to the championship game. There was controversy with the polls because they didn’t necessarily have the top 2 College Football teams each year.

In 2014, the NCAA decided to create the College Football Playoff with 4 teams. This was in hopes of having better matchups and a chance for the top 4 Division 1 teams to play playoff games for a title. Alabama has appeared in the last 3 College Football Championship Games winning 2 of them including Monday. Saban now has 5 National Titles. Alabama is 10-4 in bowl games under Saban

Both Bryant and Saban are top coaches. It is difficult to pick between the two. For me, I never saw Bryant coach but I know he was one of the best during his time.   I would give the edge to Saban. He is the greatest coach in college football today. Not many schools play in 6 National Title Games and win 5 of them. That is consistency. Next year, Saban might win another one and pass Bear Bryant.

Who do you think is a better coach between Bear Bryant and Nick Saban?

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