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Posted on 1/10/24 at 7:34 pm to RolltidePA
It is tough to compare eras. Saban did it in a period of time when there was way more parity. But he also did it in a time when Alabama was able to recruit nationally along with being smack dab in the middle of the nation's best recruiting area.
Bryant did it in a time when he basically took local Alabama farm boys and beat everybody else's local farm boys. In the second half of his career he had to negotiate integration despite being at a disadvantage initially. Yet it took Bama only a handful of years to get back to the top.
Trying to claim that one of these guys (Bryant or Saban) is better than the other is kind of silly.
Bryant did it in a time when he basically took local Alabama farm boys and beat everybody else's local farm boys. In the second half of his career he had to negotiate integration despite being at a disadvantage initially. Yet it took Bama only a handful of years to get back to the top.
Trying to claim that one of these guys (Bryant or Saban) is better than the other is kind of silly.
Posted on 1/10/24 at 7:37 pm to lsusa
. Saban and Coach Bryant are both the Goats. I once shook Coach Bryant’s hand as an 8 year old, something most Bama fans can’t say. :)
Not sure what you are talking about.
Not sure what you are talking about.
Posted on 1/10/24 at 7:37 pm to GWM
A totally different era. Plus bear didn’t have recruiting limitations. Saban did.
Posted on 1/10/24 at 7:39 pm to lsusa
Nope
Posted on 1/10/24 at 7:51 pm to dukke v
quote:
A totally different era. Plus bear didn’t have recruiting limitations. Saban did.
Coach Bryant dealt with segregation issues and bringing black athletes into the University of ALABAMA.
Recruiting limitations aren't a drop in the bucket to things that Coach Bryant had to deal with in his era.
How about communications ? No internet, and little televised Media compared to today, yet he managed to bring in some talent and he developed what he had to the utmost ability. The man faced more obstacles and hardships than most anyone can fathom today.
No comparison, Coach Bryant is still the GOAT, with Saban following closely behind.
Posted on 1/10/24 at 7:53 pm to lsusa
The argument over Saban being declared the GOAT brings to mind the apocryphal saying of Einstein when discussing Einstein’s reconfiguration of Newtonian physics: “Whatever my contributions, I stand on the shoulder of giants.”
For all Saban’s unprecedented success as a football coach these past few decades, it is easy to underestimate how Bear Bryant absolutely dominated the SEC and college football during the 1960s and 1970s.
I came of age while Bear Bryant was at the height of his coaching career at Alabama.
After Bryant won his first MNC at Alabama in the mid ‘60s, only one other team — UGA— won a MNC in the SEC during the remainder of Bryant’s coaching career. And that win came at the very end of Bryant’s tenure.
Off the top of my head, UGA (2x), LSU (2x), UF and AU have all won a MNC (or two) while Saban has been at Alabama. Saban’s record speaks for itself but calling Saban the GOAT and not considering the stranglehold Bryant had on southern football does the history of college football a disservice.
For all Saban’s unprecedented success as a football coach these past few decades, it is easy to underestimate how Bear Bryant absolutely dominated the SEC and college football during the 1960s and 1970s.
I came of age while Bear Bryant was at the height of his coaching career at Alabama.
After Bryant won his first MNC at Alabama in the mid ‘60s, only one other team — UGA— won a MNC in the SEC during the remainder of Bryant’s coaching career. And that win came at the very end of Bryant’s tenure.
Off the top of my head, UGA (2x), LSU (2x), UF and AU have all won a MNC (or two) while Saban has been at Alabama. Saban’s record speaks for itself but calling Saban the GOAT and not considering the stranglehold Bryant had on southern football does the history of college football a disservice.
Posted on 1/10/24 at 7:56 pm to Toomer Deplorable
You said it very well.
Posted on 1/10/24 at 8:20 pm to dukke v
quote:
Plus bear didn’t have recruiting limitations. Saban did.
Well, the SEC has always been the SEC.
Bear Bryant coached and won against coaches such as Shug Jordan, Johnny Vaught, Ray Graves, Doug Dickey, Johnny Majors, Paul Dietzel, Charles McClendon, Wally Butts, Vince Dooley, etc….
That ain’t exactly a chump’s list and includes many HOF coaches.
This post was edited on 1/10/24 at 8:21 pm
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