Got into the replies and haven’t even answered the topic’s prompt:

No, 2012 was not the most accomplished Alabama team but it was my choice for the best team of the Saban era until 2020. The ‘20 Alabama squad won more individual awards, won the big individual honor (Heisman), went undefeated, won the SEC, and won the national title.

Doug Nussmeier had a bad problem of losing the plot on offense. Dude must’ve had a man crush on AJ McCarron because he insisted on trying to win him a Heisman when a 7ypc rush was available any time he wanted it with that OL. I think his tendency to this cost the 2012 team an undefeated season v. TAMU, made the 2012 UGA game much closer than it ought to have been judging by their inability to stop the run the entire 2nd half, and arguably cost Alabama a 3peat in the 2013 Iron Bowl.

2012 Alabama starting offense was 11 NFL rostered players who started at least 1 game in the pros plus a few others in the regular rotation at RB and WR who also played and starred for a time in the NFL. Nussmeier frankly mismanaged that offense and that is why he was given the polite pink slip (given a chance to find “new opportunities”).

Pete Golding may be the 2020 analogue for Doug Nussmeier, Despite me not being a fan of Pete, I recognize that the defense did find some things it could do well over the season and married them to playing complimentary football w/ the offense. Doug was mismanaging the centerpiece of that squad because the defense took a talent and experience step back after 2011.

So just from an on-field perspective, 2020 did a better job of maximizing it’s strengths and masking it’s weaknesses than 2012. They found a way to not lose a game that hung in the balance this year. No 2014 or 2015 Ole Miss games or 2012 Aggy game in this bunch because the staff got the most out of the roster in every game even if it wasn’t always pretty (but often it was).