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Mark Inabinett | minabinett@al.com
Alabama coach Nick Saban completed his 22nd season as a college football head coach with the Crimson Tide's 26-23 overtime victory against Georgia in the CFP championship game on Jan. 8.
Nick Saban has spent 22 seasons as a college football head coach - 1990 at Toledo, 1995 through 1999 at Michigan State, 2000 through 2004 at LSU and 2007 through 2017 at Alabama. Here are some numbers about his record-setting coaching career:
0 Coaches in major-college football history have won more games in their first 22 seasons than Nick Saban. Saban has a 223-62-1 on-the-field record after going 13-1 in 2017 in his 22nd campaign. Nebraska's Tom Osborne is second to Saban on the list with a 219-47-3 record with the Cornhuskers from 1973 through 1994. Osborne went on to win 255 games overall in 25 seasons at Nebraska.
0 Coaches in SEC history have a higher winning percentage than Nick Saban (among those with at least five seasons in the league). Saban has an on-the-field record of 180-36 at Alabama and LSU - a winning percentage of .833. No. 2 on the list is Urban Meyer, who had a 65-15 record at Florida from 2005 through 2010 for an .813 winning percentage.
0 Coaches in SEC history have a higher winning percentage in conference games than Nick Saban (among those with at least five seasons in the league). Saban has an on-the-field record of 103-25 in regular-season SEC games - a winning percentage of .805. No. 2 on the list is Gene Stallings, who had a 43-11-1 on-the-field record in conference regular-season games at Alabama from 1990 through 1996 for a .791 winning percentage.
0.001 Is the difference between the career winning percentages of Nick Saban and Paul "Bear" Bryant. Bryant had a career record of 323-85-17 at Maryland, Kentucky, Texas A&M and Alabama - a winning percentage of .780. Saban has an on-the-field record of 223-62-1 at Toledo, Michigan State, LSU and Alabama - a winning percentage of .781.
3 Times Nick Saban has been the SEC Coach of the Year, as voted on by the conference's coaches. In 2008, he shared the award with Vanderbilt's Bobby Johnson and Ole Miss' Houston Nutt, before winning the award again in 2009 and 2016. Paul "Bear" Bryant won the coaches' SEC Coach of the Year Award eight times. Other coaches with at least three of the awards are Vince Dooley, five; Steve Spurrier, four; and Wally Butts, Pat Dye, Ralph "Shug" Jordan, Robert Neyland and Nutt three apiece.
4 SEC coaches have more victories while guiding conference members than Nick Saban. Saban has 180 victories at LSU and Alabama. Paul "Bear" Bryant holds the league record with 292 victories at Kentucky and Alabama. Steve Spurrier had 208 wins at Florida and South Carolina, Vince Dooley had 201 at Georgia and Johnny Vaught had 190 at Ole Miss.
4 Coaches have won more SEC regular-season games than Nick Saban, who has 103 conference victories at LSU and Alabama. Paul "Bear" Bryant holds the SEC record with 159 league wins at Kentucky and Alabama. Steve Spurrier had 126 conference victories at Florida and South Carolina, Johnny Vaught had 106 at Ole Miss and Vince Dooley had 105 at Georgia.
5 Nick Saban teams have finished atop the final Associated Press poll of the season, tied for the most in history. Saban's Alabama teams have won the AP national championship in 2009, 2011, 2012, 2015 and 2017. The only other coach with five is Alabama's Paul "Bear" Bryant in 1961, 1964, 1965, 1978 and 1979.
6 Nick Saban teams have finished atop the final coaches poll of the season, more than any other coach has had. The 2017 Alabama team joined his LSU team of 2003 and his Crimson Tide teams of 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2015 as winners of the American Football Coaches Association's crystal football trophy. No other coach has had more than four teams finish atop the final coaches poll. Paul "Bear" Bryant and John McKay had four apiece. Bryant's Alabama teams of 1961, 1964, 1973 and 1979 topped the final coaches polls. McKay's Southern Cal teams of 1962, 1967, 1972 and 1974 finished at No. 1 in the coaches polls.
6 National championships have been earned by teams coached by Nick Saban, tied with Paul "Bear" Bryant for the most during the poll era. Saban earned his sixth national crown this season when Alabama won the 2017 College Football Playoff. That joined the titles of 2003 with LSU and 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2015 with Alabama. Bryant's titles at Alabama came in 1961, 1964, 1965, 1973, 1978 and 1979.
7 Victories by teams coached by Nick Saban over the No. 1 team in the AP poll after Alabama defeated Clemson in a CFP semifinal game at the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1. Saban has three more victories than any other coach against the top-rated team. Four other coaches had four victories over the No. 1 team - Jimmy Johnson, Lou Holtz, Jack Mollenkopf and Joe Paterno.
12 Victories without a loss for Alabama coach Nick Saban against opposing coaches who served as assistant coaches under him, including the 26-23 overtime victory on Jan. 8 in the CFP championship game over Georgia, which was coached by former Crimson Tide defensive coordinator Kirby Smart. Saban also has three victories each over Derek Dooley and Jim McElwain, two apiece over Will Muschamp and Mark Dantonio and one over Jimbo Fisher.
17 Major-college coaches have more victories than Nick Saban. Saban is five behind No. 17, Steve Spurrier, who won 228 games at Duke, Florida and South Carolina.
18 Shutout victories have been posted by Alabama in its past 96 games under Nick Saban. In the first 190 games of his collegiate coaching career, Saban had 10 shutout victories.
21 Victories against teams ranked in the top five of the AP poll for teams coached by Nick Saban, three ahead of former West Virginia/Florida State coach Bobby Bowden at the top of the all-time list. Saban has a 15-6 record against top-five teams at Alabama. The victories at Alabama came against No. 3 Georgia in 2008, No. 1 Florida and No. 2 Texas in 2009, No. 1 LSU in 2011, No. 5 LSU, No. 3 Georgia and No. 1 Notre Dame in 2012; No. 1 Mississippi State in 2014, No. 2 LSU, No. 3 Michigan State and No. 1 Clemson in 2015, No. 3 Washington in 2016 and No. 3 Florida State, No. 1 Clemson and No. 3 Georgia in 2017. Overall, Saban has a 21-12 record against top-five opponents. Bowden's record was 18-30-1.
30 Consensus All-Americans have been coached by Nick Saban, including S Minkah Fitzpatrick, who earned consensus All-American recognition for the second straight season in 2017. Fitzpatrick is the fourth Alabama player to be a two-time consensus All-American under Saban, joining DT Terrence Cody, OL Barrett Jones and LB C.J. Mosley. The consensus All-Americans under Saban have been WR Josh Reed in 2001, DL Chad Lavalais in 2003 and DL Marcus Spears and C Ben Wilkerson in 2004 at LSU; Cody, C Antoine Caldwell and OL Andre Smith in 2008, Cody, DB Javier Arenas, RB Mark Ingram, OL Mike Johnson and LB Rolando McClain in 2009, Jones, DB Mark Barron, LB Dont'a Hightower and RB Trent Richardson in 2011, Jones, Mosley, DB Dee Milliner and OL Chance Warmack in 2012, Mosley, DB Ha Ha Clinton-Dix and OL Cyrus Kouandjio in 2013, WR Amari Cooper and DB Landon Collins in 2014, RB Derrick Henry, C Ryan Kelly, LB Reggie Ragland and DL A'Shawn Robinson in 2015, Fitzpatrick, DL Jonathan Allen, LB Reuben Foster and OL Cam Robinson in 2016 and Fitzpatrick in 2017 at Alabama.
32-17 Is the average score of Nick Saban's 286 games as a collegiate head coach. Saban's teams have outscored their opponents 9,187-4,841.
66 Are the most points that have been scored by a Nick Saban team in one game, with the total coming in a 63-point victory over Ole Miss on Sept. 30. That topped Alabama's 63-7 victory over Georgia State on Nov. 18, 2010.
72 Of the 103 times that Alabama has been No. 1 in the AP poll have come with Nick Saban as the Crimson Tide's coach. The Crimson Tide has been No. 1 in 72 of the past 153 AP polls after making 31 appearances at No. 1 in the previous 984.
132 Victories in 152 games for Alabama since Nick Saban became the Crimson Tide's coach in 2007. Saban ranks second on Alabama's list of coaching victories - 100 behind Paul "Bear" Bryant. Bryant had a 232-46-9 record in 25 seasons as the Tide's coach. Saban also is second to Bryant in Alabama history in conference victories, too, with Bryant at 146 and Saban at 75 in SEC regular-season games.
181 Games since a Nick Saban-coached team was shut out. On Nov. 16, 2002, LSU lost to Alabama 31-0. The only other shutout loss of Saban's collegiate career came on Dec. 31, 1996, when Michigan State lost to Stanford 38-0 in the Sun Bowl.
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Nick Saban has spent 22 seasons as a college football head coach - 1990 at Toledo, 1995 through 1999 at Michigan State, 2000 through 2004 at LSU and 2007 through 2017 at Alabama. Here are some numbers about his record-setting coaching career:
0 Coaches in major-college football history have won more games in their first 22 seasons than Nick Saban. Saban has a 223-62-1 on-the-field record after going 13-1 in 2017 in his 22nd campaign. Nebraska's Tom Osborne is second to Saban on the list with a 219-47-3 record with the Cornhuskers from 1973 through 1994. Osborne went on to win 255 games overall in 25 seasons at Nebraska.
0 Coaches in SEC history have a higher winning percentage than Nick Saban (among those with at least five seasons in the league). Saban has an on-the-field record of 180-36 at Alabama and LSU - a winning percentage of .833. No. 2 on the list is Urban Meyer, who had a 65-15 record at Florida from 2005 through 2010 for an .813 winning percentage.
0 Coaches in SEC history have a higher winning percentage in conference games than Nick Saban (among those with at least five seasons in the league). Saban has an on-the-field record of 103-25 in regular-season SEC games - a winning percentage of .805. No. 2 on the list is Gene Stallings, who had a 43-11-1 on-the-field record in conference regular-season games at Alabama from 1990 through 1996 for a .791 winning percentage.
0.001 Is the difference between the career winning percentages of Nick Saban and Paul "Bear" Bryant. Bryant had a career record of 323-85-17 at Maryland, Kentucky, Texas A&M and Alabama - a winning percentage of .780. Saban has an on-the-field record of 223-62-1 at Toledo, Michigan State, LSU and Alabama - a winning percentage of .781.
3 Times Nick Saban has been the SEC Coach of the Year, as voted on by the conference's coaches. In 2008, he shared the award with Vanderbilt's Bobby Johnson and Ole Miss' Houston Nutt, before winning the award again in 2009 and 2016. Paul "Bear" Bryant won the coaches' SEC Coach of the Year Award eight times. Other coaches with at least three of the awards are Vince Dooley, five; Steve Spurrier, four; and Wally Butts, Pat Dye, Ralph "Shug" Jordan, Robert Neyland and Nutt three apiece.
4 SEC coaches have more victories while guiding conference members than Nick Saban. Saban has 180 victories at LSU and Alabama. Paul "Bear" Bryant holds the league record with 292 victories at Kentucky and Alabama. Steve Spurrier had 208 wins at Florida and South Carolina, Vince Dooley had 201 at Georgia and Johnny Vaught had 190 at Ole Miss.
4 Coaches have won more SEC regular-season games than Nick Saban, who has 103 conference victories at LSU and Alabama. Paul "Bear" Bryant holds the SEC record with 159 league wins at Kentucky and Alabama. Steve Spurrier had 126 conference victories at Florida and South Carolina, Johnny Vaught had 106 at Ole Miss and Vince Dooley had 105 at Georgia.
5 Nick Saban teams have finished atop the final Associated Press poll of the season, tied for the most in history. Saban's Alabama teams have won the AP national championship in 2009, 2011, 2012, 2015 and 2017. The only other coach with five is Alabama's Paul "Bear" Bryant in 1961, 1964, 1965, 1978 and 1979.
6 Nick Saban teams have finished atop the final coaches poll of the season, more than any other coach has had. The 2017 Alabama team joined his LSU team of 2003 and his Crimson Tide teams of 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2015 as winners of the American Football Coaches Association's crystal football trophy. No other coach has had more than four teams finish atop the final coaches poll. Paul "Bear" Bryant and John McKay had four apiece. Bryant's Alabama teams of 1961, 1964, 1973 and 1979 topped the final coaches polls. McKay's Southern Cal teams of 1962, 1967, 1972 and 1974 finished at No. 1 in the coaches polls.
6 National championships have been earned by teams coached by Nick Saban, tied with Paul "Bear" Bryant for the most during the poll era. Saban earned his sixth national crown this season when Alabama won the 2017 College Football Playoff. That joined the titles of 2003 with LSU and 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2015 with Alabama. Bryant's titles at Alabama came in 1961, 1964, 1965, 1973, 1978 and 1979.
7 Victories by teams coached by Nick Saban over the No. 1 team in the AP poll after Alabama defeated Clemson in a CFP semifinal game at the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1. Saban has three more victories than any other coach against the top-rated team. Four other coaches had four victories over the No. 1 team - Jimmy Johnson, Lou Holtz, Jack Mollenkopf and Joe Paterno.
12 Victories without a loss for Alabama coach Nick Saban against opposing coaches who served as assistant coaches under him, including the 26-23 overtime victory on Jan. 8 in the CFP championship game over Georgia, which was coached by former Crimson Tide defensive coordinator Kirby Smart. Saban also has three victories each over Derek Dooley and Jim McElwain, two apiece over Will Muschamp and Mark Dantonio and one over Jimbo Fisher.
17 Major-college coaches have more victories than Nick Saban. Saban is five behind No. 17, Steve Spurrier, who won 228 games at Duke, Florida and South Carolina.
18 Shutout victories have been posted by Alabama in its past 96 games under Nick Saban. In the first 190 games of his collegiate coaching career, Saban had 10 shutout victories.
21 Victories against teams ranked in the top five of the AP poll for teams coached by Nick Saban, three ahead of former West Virginia/Florida State coach Bobby Bowden at the top of the all-time list. Saban has a 15-6 record against top-five teams at Alabama. The victories at Alabama came against No. 3 Georgia in 2008, No. 1 Florida and No. 2 Texas in 2009, No. 1 LSU in 2011, No. 5 LSU, No. 3 Georgia and No. 1 Notre Dame in 2012; No. 1 Mississippi State in 2014, No. 2 LSU, No. 3 Michigan State and No. 1 Clemson in 2015, No. 3 Washington in 2016 and No. 3 Florida State, No. 1 Clemson and No. 3 Georgia in 2017. Overall, Saban has a 21-12 record against top-five opponents. Bowden's record was 18-30-1.
30 Consensus All-Americans have been coached by Nick Saban, including S Minkah Fitzpatrick, who earned consensus All-American recognition for the second straight season in 2017. Fitzpatrick is the fourth Alabama player to be a two-time consensus All-American under Saban, joining DT Terrence Cody, OL Barrett Jones and LB C.J. Mosley. The consensus All-Americans under Saban have been WR Josh Reed in 2001, DL Chad Lavalais in 2003 and DL Marcus Spears and C Ben Wilkerson in 2004 at LSU; Cody, C Antoine Caldwell and OL Andre Smith in 2008, Cody, DB Javier Arenas, RB Mark Ingram, OL Mike Johnson and LB Rolando McClain in 2009, Jones, DB Mark Barron, LB Dont'a Hightower and RB Trent Richardson in 2011, Jones, Mosley, DB Dee Milliner and OL Chance Warmack in 2012, Mosley, DB Ha Ha Clinton-Dix and OL Cyrus Kouandjio in 2013, WR Amari Cooper and DB Landon Collins in 2014, RB Derrick Henry, C Ryan Kelly, LB Reggie Ragland and DL A'Shawn Robinson in 2015, Fitzpatrick, DL Jonathan Allen, LB Reuben Foster and OL Cam Robinson in 2016 and Fitzpatrick in 2017 at Alabama.
32-17 Is the average score of Nick Saban's 286 games as a collegiate head coach. Saban's teams have outscored their opponents 9,187-4,841.
66 Are the most points that have been scored by a Nick Saban team in one game, with the total coming in a 63-point victory over Ole Miss on Sept. 30. That topped Alabama's 63-7 victory over Georgia State on Nov. 18, 2010.
72 Of the 103 times that Alabama has been No. 1 in the AP poll have come with Nick Saban as the Crimson Tide's coach. The Crimson Tide has been No. 1 in 72 of the past 153 AP polls after making 31 appearances at No. 1 in the previous 984.
132 Victories in 152 games for Alabama since Nick Saban became the Crimson Tide's coach in 2007. Saban ranks second on Alabama's list of coaching victories - 100 behind Paul "Bear" Bryant. Bryant had a 232-46-9 record in 25 seasons as the Tide's coach. Saban also is second to Bryant in Alabama history in conference victories, too, with Bryant at 146 and Saban at 75 in SEC regular-season games.
181 Games since a Nick Saban-coached team was shut out. On Nov. 16, 2002, LSU lost to Alabama 31-0. The only other shutout loss of Saban's collegiate career came on Dec. 31, 1996, when Michigan State lost to Stanford 38-0 in the Sun Bowl.
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