Sports Illustrated Anoints SEC Coach 'Greatest College Football Coach Ever'

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In a feature for Sports Illustrated, writers Dan Lyons, Patrick Andres and Tim Capurso released their ranking of the top 25 college football coaches in history. The list included a number of recent stars like Curt Cignetti and Kirby Smart, along with greats of generations past like Knute Rockne and Bear Bryant. But the three ultimately ranked Nick Saban No. 1....

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“After a feeling-out year in 2007, Saban was off and running. The Crimson Tide finished No. 6 in the country in 2008, the first of 16 consecutive AP top 10 finishes to close the coach’s career (he also had two with the Tigers and one with Michigan State). He retired after the 2023 season the winner of seven national championships under all kinds of circumstances: a split with USC (’03), as an unbeaten juggernaut (’09), in a rematch (’11), after shaking off a regular-season loss (’12 and ’15), behind North American sports’ most famous in-game decision (’17), and during a global pandemic (’20). It’s his versatility that sets him head and shoulders above his peers, and earns him the No. 1 spot on this list,” Andres wrote.

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