re: Best Ever SEC Coach - Input needed from all SEC fans

Two unbeaten regular seasons at TEXAS A&M, also won a conference title in 1998 by beating the #1 TEAM IN CFB!

R.C Slocum

Saban is the CFB Goat as far as I'm concerned.

All these words can only mean one thing. It's Altie season.

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Best Ever SEC Coach -

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Old days- Bear


Modern era- Saban


There’s a lot of time difference and changes between the two that could alter what one or the other was able to achieve. Like the greatest golfer of all time, or boxer, etc. Both did great.

how bout you gumps start your own forum so you don't gum_p up the works for other fans here! show some respect!

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Quite simply, Bear didn't have to deal with the level of competition Saban did.
1978 ALABAMA schedule
Nebraska 9-3
Missouri 8-4
USC 12-1Alabama lost
Vandy 2-9
Washington 7-4
Florida 4-7
Tennessee 5-5-1
VaTech 4-7
Mississippi State 6-5
LSU 8-4
Auburn 6-4-1
Penn State 11-1 (Sugar Bowl, winning the title)

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Alabama was a product of great marketing even in 1978. They lost to the only team they played with less than 3 losses. Bear picked Penn St for the national championship game because he knew they were weak. He nudged sports writers. Even then money was a big deal in sports.

Saban obviously
Bear is second.
Third is where it gets interesting. Smart or Spurrier probably but Smart has an impressive resume but its a little short on time compared to many.
Pat Dye and Vince Dooley are in the conversation. A few from Tennessee...Johny Majors and Kneeland are there. the first 2 are indisputable in my opinion, and you could swap them in order without a lot of debate out of me...but it gets interesting beyond that. Thats just the original SEC....toss OU and Texas in the mix and it gets really convoluted.

With ATM in the conference it's be pretty easy to hand the crown to Bear over Saban because he coached in an era when southern football was about where the Big12 is now and he coached at 3 SEC schools counting ATM. Saban coached in a tougher conference top to bottom, in my opinion, than Bear Bryant did....or any of the others outside of Smart.

IF Smart coaches 25 or so years, HIGHLY unlikely given the current state of college football, and he continues to do what he has to this point, also highly unlikely because its only been done once, he will be the GOAT in CFB period, and in the SEC for certain. Time will tell but I think its almost a certainty that Smart is not at UGA or anywhere another 10 or 15 years. I hope its my Dooley/Munson derangement syndrome kicking in and he has to be run off like Bobby Bowden and Joe Paterno for being a senile octogenarian but in the current state of college football I doubt that happens at one school again....it may happen over several but not one.

Saban is the goat based on championship pedigree.

But if my life were on the line, for one single game, … and I could only pick one coach to win the game …. it would be Spurrier

the Ole Ball Coach

Saban