Honestly... it'll be a tough pill to swallow either way. Saban could very well be the best all-time.

If I had my choice, it would be:

1) Jon Gruden. That dude got TB over the hump and maintained an insanely good defense.

2) Mark Richt. You can laugh all you want (much like LSU fans earlier about Saban), but I feel if Richt doesn't get the job done at UGA by the time Saban leaves, he'll part ways with Georgia. He'll take a year off and get ready for his shot at a title. His tenure won't be as long or as successful as Saban's, but he could very well deliver a gap national championship, ala Gene Stallings towards the end of his career.

3) Kirby Smart. He's not my first choice, but, the guy would have spent 10 years under coach Saban and in the exact same system, recruiting the same pipelines. If Kirby can show a relentless attitude to recruiting like Saban does, than I'd be all for it.

4) Art Briles. I've never seen someone recruit Texas with less, like he does. Give him the same resources at Alabama, and who knows what could happen. My only concern is the need to be battle tested by a fanbase like ours, or, be such an a-hole that you command the respect of the fanbase.

5) Jim Mora. When he was the coach of the Falcons, I thought he was Nick Saban's clone. He was a micro-manager that got the job done to some degree, was more in tune to the younger players, and hated losing more than winning. I think he would be a great, great fit.

6) Dan Mullen. Just kidding.