SI Mailbag on Nick Saban (#1 coach in America)

Stewart, how surprised are you by the instant success Nick Saban has had at Alabama? Saban is certainly a great coach, but this is the first time he has ever won 10-plus games in consecutive seasons, and outside of the '03 title, his record at LSU was solid, but not spectacular. Did his NFL stint make him a better coach, or has the synergy of success-starved Alabama and no-nonsense Nick just been a match made in heaven?
-- Michael Stadler, Palo Alto, Calif.

I always figured he'd eventually reach this point, but I'm surprised it happened so quickly. It is, as you said, a match made in heaven. With all due respect to LSU, its football history prior to the start of this decade primarily consisted of Billy Cannon, Billy Cannon and Billy Cannon. What you consider his "solid but not spectacular" record (.750 winning percentage) was tied for the school's highest of any coach in 100 years, and he led a program that had been largely nationally irrelevant for 40 years to one national title and helped pave the way for another.

So clearly, the guy could coach and recruit with the best of them, and now you hand him the keys to one of the sport's all-time storied teams -- and, most importantly, give him complete autonomy over every last facet of the program -- and it seemed almost inevitable he'd get them to this point. I'll admit, I don't think I fully grasped his coaching persona while with LSU. Like so many others, I got caught up in his "angry" side perhaps jaded by his job-hopping. But listening to him talk throughout this season, there's no question in my mind: He's the Bill Belichick of college football.

There are plenty of great coaches out there, each with their own unique approach. Pete Carroll has won a lot of games being the "fun" guy, Urban Meyer the "competitive" guy, Jim Tressel the "fundamentals" guy. Saban, like Belichick, is the "cerebral" guy. As I listened to his postgame remarks following the Florida win, you could tell that he's literally broken down championship football -- not just the X's and O's, mind you, but all the other elements -- into an almost clinical process. If you were to sit him down right now, he could tell you in intricate detail, every minute step of how Alabama got from Point A (his arrival) to Point B (playing for a national title). Just be forewarned that it's not necessarily scintillating stuff. It would probably bore you to tears, actually.

I think that pretty much sums him up. The best coach in America lives in Tuscaloosa Alabama and he isn't going anywhere anytime soon.