re: Pete Carroll ~VS~ Nick Saban

It's a fair look since Pete was at USC for 9 years and Saban has been at Bama for 9 years.

Both inherited teams coming off extended stretches of down years and multiple coaching missteps.

In 9 years, Carrol went 98-19 (winning percentage of .838). Under the system all D1 teams played under at the time, Pete won 2 titles (or 1.5, depending on perspective).

In 9 years, Saban has gone 106-18 (winning percentage of .855). Under the system(s) all D1 teams have played under during Saban's tenure, he's won 4 titles (looking only at USC Pete vs Bama Saban).

Both had 6 loss seasons in their first year, which is understandable considering what both inherited. After that is where Saban separates himself.

Pete Carroll had the following embarrassing loses AFTER his first year:
2nd season: 27-20 to KSU, 30-27 to WSU
3rd season: 34-31 to unranked Cal
6th season: 33-31 Cal (unranked), 13-9 UCLA (unranked)
7th season: 24-23 Stanford (unranked and a 40+ point dog)
8th season: 27-21 Oregon State (unranked)
9th season: 16-13 Washington (unranked), 47-20 Oregon, 55-21 Stanford, and 21-17 Arizona (unranked)

7 losses to unranked teams. 2 losses of greater than 20 points.

From 2nd season on, Saban has never lost to an unranked team, never had more than 3 losses in a season, and never lost by more than 14 points.

I'm biased, but the numbers don't lie. I'd take Saban's best years over Pete's best years. All the winning, more titles, and less WTH losses.