re: If Saban wins another NC, will Bama fans consider him to be > the Bear?

Not just yet. The Bear had 6 #1's. The biggest fact that most forget is that Bear Bryant was able to completely reinvent his style to keep up with the changing landscape of college football. He went from 3 yrds and a cloud of dust to prolific passers like Namath and Stabler to unveiling the wishbone, winning in whatever style he needed to adjust to. It's yet to be seen if Saban could adjust when the game evolves away from him. Although he has done a pretty good job of squashing the spread fad.