I am in the camp that

Two different eras. Both were monumental winners.

Just imagine all the titles Saban would have won if all his best players didn't go to the NFL after 3 years.

That's what blows my mind. I mean hell, we win a title this past season with Bryce Young at QB.

Then the year before we lost Waddle to the league, and that leaves us a WR to beat mUlliGAn with.

If you apply the ‘how NC’s were won’ to each coaches era, it makes for interesting debate. Bryant won 6 and had 1966 stolen and many debate other years as well. Bryant won in an era of poll voting at a time when most pollsters absolutely hated southern football and especially Alabama. How many more if any does Bryant win in a BCS or Playoff setting where if you win that game and you are NC’s regardless what the pollsters think.

Conversely, if Saban were relying on the pollsters only. Where you are playing some other random team in a bowl game and not the number two team. How many does he win? Maybe 3? In poll era Bama likely finishes 2nd in 2011, 2012 and maybe 2015, 2017. Who knows. But it would have been out of Sabans control.

That’s why I can’t put one in front of the other. Just thankful they both wore the script A.

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The thing that stands out to me was that Bears record in Bryant Denny Stadium was 72-2.

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That is awesome over a 25 year career, but during Bear's time at Bama, 72-2 averages out to 3 games a year. That was always rooty-poot teams.

It was half the size of Legion field the entire time he was at Bama. All the big games and most mid-level games were played in Bham.

I would still go with Bear Bryant. Modern day people only think of what they see, like 25-30 year old's who do not understand modern movies are really mostly bad.

Lets compare titles, thats the key.

Bear won 6 and was 11-0 in 1966, Bama started the year #1 beat its opponents by a total of like 349 to 57 (not official, thats an off hand memory, from long ago studies, but its close) whilst Notre Dame and Mich. St. tied 10-10 and finished #1 and #2 and Notre Dame didn't play in a bowl. So, he got shafted by the Yank AP voters there.

In 1977 Bear beat USC #1 team in L.A. and lost at Nebraska 31-24 and I think we had 5 turnovers with Rutledge throwing 4 interceptions (pretty sure) and I watched in Western Auto up town (played pool on Sat. lol) We beat Ole Miss pretty bad, like 20 points, Notre Dame lost to Ole Miss. We beat Ohio St. 35-6 in the bowl game and Notre Dame beat #1 Texas and they jumped to #1 over us who had been #2 but the very last poll those Yank pollsters dropped us to #3 so they could set up the steal. We beat Ole Miss bad, they lost to them.

Bear should have had a couple more titles at Bama. Then at Kentucky (KENTUCKY !! ) he went 10-1 beating Oklahoma 13-7 in the bowl game, OU was 10-0 and named National Champs before the Bowls, so if anyone says in 1973 they lost the bowl, well in 1950 Bear beat OU in the bowl. Both finished 10-1.

Now, lets look at Nicks titles. 2009 14-0 then in 2011 he beat LSU with a do-over, during Bear Bryant's time, if LSU was undefeated and played in the (lets say Sugar Bowl) then Bama would have never gotten a rematch for the title. In 2012 Bama dominated. In 2015 Bama won it all. In 2017 Nick and Bama won the title but did not win the SEC or even play in the SEC title game, Auburn won the West. So, that is another title that in Bears days Nick would not have won.

So, when we look at it like that, I still place the Bear ahead of nick. He really won a title (by todays standards) at Kentucky, I do not think anyone else but the Bear could have done that.

I still blame Nick for not winning the title in 2013, he was on the 7 yard line with a 7 point lead and 5 minutes to play, he could have kicked the FG and won the game, instead he went for it on 4th down and Auburn won (the refs cheated about 20 times in that game. The 3rd and 1 was a first down, but you have to take the 3 points there. Nick got the best players from round the nation, Bear took lesser players and turned them into winners. Recruiting is much more sophisticated now, its hard to miss. Bear got some great guys, but he turned most into better players himself.

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Cognitive thinking is a lost science

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So is accepting you had a stupid opinion.

Bryant didn't have 150 man rosters.. don't believe that myth. He had the same number of players as everyone else in his day.

Had Bryant coached in the playoff era..

His 1950 KY team, his 1956 Texas A&M team qualifies.

At Alabama, '61, 62, 64, 65, 66, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 77, 78, 79 teams all go to the playoff.

What Bryant did is equal to Saban.. and unlike Saban, he didn't always have the best rosters. Consider the number of draft picks between the two..

As Bum Phillips said, "Bryant could take his team and beat yours, and take your team and beat his".

Nobody has ever thought that about Nick. Saban is the greatest recruiter thats ever lived.. and the best evaluator of talent. But He is not the gameday coach or motivator that Bryant was.

They are 1A and 1B on the GOAT list.. in no particular order.

The polls definitely had issues. The best team may not win in a 12 team play offs, but at least they will have their chance. Steve Spurrier said Bowden would have won more titles than anybody at Florida State if there was a play off system in place at the time. He may have been right. Bowden had a lot of good teams. Only two of Saban's six titles at Alabama were undefeated. I think he lost a game at LSU when he won that title (AP poll had USC #1 that year). Tennessee shanked a chip shot field goal in the closing seconds which would have beat us in 1966. Competition makes the world go round. Enjoy the competition.

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Conversely, if Saban were relying on the pollsters only. Where you are playing some other random team in a bowl game and not the number two team. How many does he win? Maybe 3? In poll era Bama likely finishes 2nd in 2011, 2012 and maybe 2015, 2017. Who knows. But it would have been out of Sabans control.

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I’ve seen people say this. Obviously you’re not a Bama hater but the notorious Bama hater over on the MSB MizzouIowaBuckeye or whatever uses this similar argument to say Saban isn’t even close to the greatest ever

But the argument of “old rules” isn’t applied all the way. For a while titles were awarded after the completion of the regular season/ pre bowls. If you want to use that argument Saban likely wins the title in 2008, maybe 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, and 2020. That’s still 5-6 titles

There was also no SEC title game so who knows how that changes some seasons

Even when they changed the pre-bowl title there weren’t always no.1 vs no.2 match ups in the bowl games. So the no. 1 team might get an easier matchup. Imagine if those 2016 or 2018 Bama teams didn’t have to play Clemson either year? I can’t speculate to how many titles Saban would have won because the matchups would’ve been very different for pretty much every team. Like 2021 Bama beats UGA and probably won’t play them again either and is named the NC. Or maybe they lose to another team. Who knows

Point is you can’t really say. You can’t apply some of the older rules and assume everything stays the same. You have to appreciate them in their own respective eras with their own pros and cons