FSU icon Bobby Bowden greater than Bama legends Nick Saban and Bear Bryant
Whoever writes the headlines for The Orlando Sentinel's web edition should see a traffic spike today.
Columnist Mike Bianchi's latest piece is sure to ruffle some feathers in Alabama after he makes the claim that the former face of Florida State football should be ranked above the Crimson Tide's legendary duo in the pantheon of coaches.
"In my mind, Saban has easily eclipsed the Bear, but not as the greatest college football coach of all-time," Bianchi writes. "Call me a State of Florida homer if you want, but I still maintain Bobby Bowden is the greatest college football coach to ever prowl the sidelines. Granted, Bear has six national titles, Saban has five and Bowden only has two. But Bowden has more overall victories and did something Bryant, Saban and Joe Paterno never did.
"He created something where there was nothing. He didn't just put Florida State on the map, he drew the dad-gum map."
That's the gist of Bianchi's reasoning for placing Bowden above Saban and the Bear. Alabama had a name before Bryant, he says, but Tallahassee wasnāt yet established as a premiere football town in the South nor did the university have resources allocated to football the way Bryant had in Tuscaloosa.
He seems hung up on the fact that Alabama's lopsided talent differential paved the way for Bryant while Bowden didn't have that luxury.
"There weren't scholarship limitations and billion-dollar TV deals that evened the playing field," Bianchi writes.
He goes on to say "national titles shouldn't be the ultimate measure of greatness" when in fact, in every major sport, the total number of championships is often the single-most determining factor separating the elite.
Alabama fans will likely agree to disagree with this opinion.
Whoever writes the headlines for The Orlando Sentinel's web edition should see a traffic spike today.
Columnist Mike Bianchi's latest piece is sure to ruffle some feathers in Alabama after he makes the claim that the former face of Florida State football should be ranked above the Crimson Tide's legendary duo in the pantheon of coaches.
"In my mind, Saban has easily eclipsed the Bear, but not as the greatest college football coach of all-time," Bianchi writes. "Call me a State of Florida homer if you want, but I still maintain Bobby Bowden is the greatest college football coach to ever prowl the sidelines. Granted, Bear has six national titles, Saban has five and Bowden only has two. But Bowden has more overall victories and did something Bryant, Saban and Joe Paterno never did.
"He created something where there was nothing. He didn't just put Florida State on the map, he drew the dad-gum map."
That's the gist of Bianchi's reasoning for placing Bowden above Saban and the Bear. Alabama had a name before Bryant, he says, but Tallahassee wasnāt yet established as a premiere football town in the South nor did the university have resources allocated to football the way Bryant had in Tuscaloosa.
He seems hung up on the fact that Alabama's lopsided talent differential paved the way for Bryant while Bowden didn't have that luxury.
"There weren't scholarship limitations and billion-dollar TV deals that evened the playing field," Bianchi writes.
He goes on to say "national titles shouldn't be the ultimate measure of greatness" when in fact, in every major sport, the total number of championships is often the single-most determining factor separating the elite.
Alabama fans will likely agree to disagree with this opinion.
