SEC Football by the Numbers: Where does Nick Saban rank among the great coaches?

Published Jan. 19, 2024, 7:00 p.m.
By Mark Inabinett

When Nick Saban stepped down from his Alabama post last week, he was widely hailed as the greatest coach in college football history.
But is that actually the case?
Saban doesn’t have the most coaching victories in college football history – not even in major-college football history. He doesn’t have the best winning percentage either.
But what Saban does have is national championships – seven of them. That’s more than any other coach, even from the claimed-championship era.
Saban’s national championships came in the BCS format in 2003 at LSU and 2009, 2011 and 2012 at Alabama and in the CFP format in 2015, 2017 and 2020 with the Crimson Tide.
The championship-game era began in 1998, and the coach with the second-most national titles during that time has three. Urban Meyer had title teams at Florida in 2006 and 2008 and Ohio State in 2014.
Paul “Bear” Bryant also coached six teams recognized as national champions at Alabama, but all came during the poll era (since The Associated Press launched its rankings as an ongoing feature in 1936) in 1961, 1964, 1965, 1973, 1978 and 1979.
In 1961, while the AP, coaches and National Football Foundation voted Alabama as their national-championship team, the Football Writers Association of America picked Ohio State.
In 1964, Alabama lost to Texas 21-17 in the Orange Bowl but won the AP and coaches national titles because they were voted on before the “extracurricular” bowls.
Because that was a bad look, the AP moved its voting until after the bowls for the 1965 season, and Bryant’s Tide took the poll title by upending undefeated Nebraska 39-28 in the Orange Bowl (with the coaches and NFF awarding their championships to Michigan State and the FWAA splitting its title between the Spartans and Alabama).
Still voting before the bowls, the coaches gave their title to Alabama in 1973, which then lost to Notre Dame 24-23 in the Sugar Bowl, lifting the Fighting Irish to the top of the final AP poll.
In 1978, the coaches picked Southern Cal over Alabama (possibly because the Trojans defeated the Tide 24-14 on the fourth Saturday of the season). But Alabama topped the final AP, FWAA and NFF polls after beating undefeated Penn State 14-7 in the Sugar Bowl (with the voting now permanently after the bowls).
In 1979, all parties agreed on Alabama as the national-championship team giving Bryant his only clean-sweep crown.
Saban’s national title at LSU was shared because the AP voted Southern Cal as No. 1 in its final poll despite the BCS billing as the championship game. But since then, the polls and the playoffs have been in agreement annually, eliminating most of the yeah-but claims to national championships.
So Saban is No. 1 in national championships. Where does he rank among coaching luminaries in other categories?
(For these rankings, only games coached at major-college football programs are considered. The numbers also reflect on-the-field results.)
Saban ranks fifth among major-college football coaches for victories, stopping three short of 300. Here’s the top 10:
1. Joe Paterno (Penn State 1966-2011): 409
2. Bobby Bowden (West Virginia, Florida State 1970-2009): 357
3. Paul “Bear” Bryant (Maryland, Kentucky, Texas A&M, Alabama 1945-1982): 323
4. Glenn “Pop” Warner (Carlisle, Cornell, Iowa State, Pitt, Stanford, Temple 1895, 1897-1938): 314
5. Nick Saban (Toledo, Michigan State, LSU, Alabama 1990, 1995-2004, 2007-2023): 297
6. Amos Alonzo Stagg (Springfield, Chicago, Pacific 1891-1932, 1943): 282
7. Mack Brown (Tulane, Texas, North Carolina 1985-2013, 2019-2023): 276
8. LaVell Edwards (BYU 1972-2000): 257
9. Tom Osborne (Nebraska 1973-1997): 255
10. Lou Holtz (William & Mary, North Carolina State, Arkansas, Minnesota, Notre Dame, South Carolina 1969-1975, 1977-1996, 1999-2004): 249
With a 297-71-1 record for a winning percentage of .806, Saban ranks 16th among major-college football coaches with at least 100 victories. The top 10 in winning percentage includes:
1. Knute Rockne (Notre Dame 1918-1930): .881 (105-12-5)
2. Frank Leahy (Boston College, Notre Dame 1939-1953): .864 (107-13-9)
3. Urban Meyer (Bowling Green, Utah, Florida, Ohio State 2001-2010, 2012-2018): .854 (187-32)
4. George Washington Woodruff (Penn, Illinois, Carlisle 1892-1901, 1903, 1905): .846 (142-25-2)
5. Barry Switzer (Oklahoma 1973-1988): .837 (157-29-4)
6. Tom Osborne (Nebraska 1973-1997): .836 (255-49-3)
7. Fielding Yost (Michigan 1901-1926): .833 (165-29-10)
8. Bob Neyland (Tennessee 1926-1934, 1935-1940, 1946-1952): .829 (173-31-12)
9. Jim Tressel (Ohio State 2001-2010): .828 (106-22)
10. Bud Wilkinson (Oklahoma 1947-1963): .826 (145-29-4)
Since this is SEC Football by the Numbers, how does Saban stack up among the coaches who have spent their entire careers within the SEC era? The SEC began in 1933 when the Southern Conference schools west and south of the Appalachian Mountains formed their own league.
Within the SEC era, Saban moves up a spot to fourth on the victories list:
1. Joe Paterno (Penn State 1966-2011): 409
2. Bobby Bowden (West Virginia, Florida State 1970-2009): 357
3. Paul “Bear” Bryant (Maryland, Kentucky, Texas A&M, Alabama 1945-1982): 323
4. Nick Saban (Toledo, Michigan State, LSU, Alabama 1990, 1995-2004, 2007-2023): 297
5. Mack Brown (Tulane, Texas, North Carolina 1985-2013, 2019-2023): 276
6. LaVell Edwards (BYU 1972-2000): 257
7. Tom Osborne (Nebraska 1973-1997): 255
8. Lou Holtz (William & Mary, North Carolina State, Arkansas, Minnesota, Notre Dame, South Carolina 1969-1975, 1977-1996, 1999-2004): 249
9. Frank Beamer (Virginia Tech 1987-2015): 238
10. Bo Schembechler (Miami (Ohio), Michigan 1963-1989): 234
The SEC era top 10 for winning percentage does include Saban:
1. Frank Leahy (Boston College, Notre Dame 1939-1953): .864 (107-13-9)
2. Urban Meyer (Bowling Green, Utah, Florida, Ohio State 2001-2010, 2012-2018): .854 (187-32)
3. Barry Switzer (Oklahoma 1973-1988): .837 (157-29-4)
4. Tom Osborne (Nebraska 1973-1997): .836 (255-49-3)
5. Jim Tressel (Ohio State 2001-2010): .828 (106-22)
6. Bud Wilkinson (Oklahoma 1947-1963): .826 (145-29-4)
7. Bob Devaney (Wyoming, Nebraska 1957-1972): .806 (136-30-7)
8. Nick Saban (Toledo, Michigan State, LSU, Alabama 1990, 1995-2004, 2007-2023): .806 (297-71-1)
9. Bob Stoops (Oklahoma 1999-2016, 2021): .799 (191-48)
10. Dabo Swinney (Clemson 2008-2023): .798 (170-43)
In SEC history, Saban also is highly ranked in the coaching categories.
The coaches with the most victories while guiding SEC programs include:
1. Paul “Bear” Bryant (Kentucky, Alabama 1946-1953, 1958-1982): 293
2. Nick Saban (LSU, Alabama 2000-2004, 2007-2023): 254
3. Steve Spurrier (Florida, South Carolina 1990-2001, 2005-2015): 208
4. Vince Dooley (Georgia 1964-1988): 201
5. John Vaught (Ole Miss 1947-1970, 1973): 190
6. Ralph “Shug” Jordan (Auburn 1951-1975): 175
7. Phillip Fulmer (Tennessee 1992-2008): 151
8. Mark Richt (Georgia 2001-2015): 145
9. Bobby Dodd (Georgia Tech 1945-1963): 142
10. Wally Butts (Georgia 1939-1960): 140
Saban also ranks second in winning percentage in all games as a coach at an SEC program (among coaches with at least five seasons in the conference):
1. Kirby Smart (Georgia 2016-2023): .855 (94-16)
2. Nick Saban (LSU, Alabama 2000-2004, 2007-2023): .849 (254-45)
3. Urban Meyer (Florida 2005-2010): .813 (65-15)
4. Gene Stallings (Alabama 1990-1996): .810 (70-16-1)
5. Frank Thomas (Alabama 1933-1946): .805 (98-21-7)
6. Paul “Bear” Bryant (Kentucky, Alabama 1946-1953, 1958-1982): .797 (292-69-14)
7. Bob Neyland (Tennessee 1933-1934, 1936-1940, 1946-1952): .780 (112-29-7)
8. Les Miles (LSU 2005-2016): .770 (114-34)
9. Allyn McKeen (Mississippi State 1939-1948): .764 (65-19-3)
10. John Vaught (Ole Miss 1947-1970, 1973): .748 (190-60-12)
When the SEC coaches are ranked by their performance in conference regular-season games, the lists are similar to those for overall games. The top 10 coaches for victories in conference regular-season games in the SEC include:
1. Paul “Bear” Bryant (Kentucky, Alabama 1946-1953, 1958-1982): 159
2. Nick Saban (LSU, Alabama 2000-2004, 2007-2023): 145
3. Steve Spurrier (Florida, South Carolina 1990-2001, 2005-2015): 126
4. John Vaught (Ole Miss 1947-1970, 1973): 106
5. Vince Dooley (Georgia 1964-1988): 105
6. Ralph “Shug” Jordan (Auburn 1951-1975): 97
7. Phillip Fulmer (Tennessee 1992-2008): 95
8. Mark Richt (Georgia 2001-2015): 83
9. Bobby Dodd (Georgia Tech 1945-1963): 82
10. Wally Butts (Georgia 1939-1960): 67
By winning percentage in conference games, the coaches line up this way (this includes only league regular-season games):
1. Kirby Smart (Georgia 2016-2023): .862 (56-9)
2. Nick Saban (LSU, Alabama 2000-2004, 2007-2023): .829 (145-30)
3. Gene Stallings (Alabama 1990-1996): .806 (43-10-1)
4. Bob Neyland (Tennessee 1933-1934, 1936-1940, 1946-1952): .780 (62-15-5)
5. Frank Thomas (Alabama 1933-1946): .765 (59-16-6)
6. Paul “Bear” Bryant (Kentucky, Alabama 1946-1953, 1958-1982): .764 (159-46-9)
7. Urban Meyer (Florida 2005-2010): .750 (36-12)
8. Phillip Fulmer (Tennessee 1992-2008): .731 (95-35)
9. Vince Dooley (Georgia 1964-1988): .713 (105-41-4)
10. Steve Spurrier (Florida, South Carolina 1990-2001, 2005-2015): .708 (126-52)