Alabama Crimson Tide

The 10 Greatest College Football Teams Coached by Nick Saban

Updated Mar. 5, 2020 1:31 a.m. ET

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With Alabama on course to defend its SEC and College Football Playoff titles, where does their 2016 team rank among Nick Saban’s best?

Even before he came to Tuscaloosa, Nick Saban was considered among the best coaches in football. During stops at Toledo, Michigan State, and LSU he built up a reputation as one of the most thorough CEOs to run a college program. While his two years in the NFL with the Miami Dolphins provided mixed results, he has built a resume that puts him among the greatest college coaches of all time.

This year the Crimson Tide is once again a favorite to win the SEC and play in the College Football Playoff. Alabama has made the playoff semifinals each of the first two years, and Saban could tie fellow Tide legend Bear Bryant for the most recognized national titles by a head coach. Saban has earned three BCS championships and a CFP title last year at Alabama to go with the 2003 BCS title he won at LSU.

With Saban taking Alabama to face his former team in Baton Rouge this weekend, now is the perfect time to evaluate the greatest teams of his tenure. To help determine the hierarchy of seasons, we have calculated an adjusted margin of victory for each year that takes into account strength of schedule as a normalizing factor. This isn’t a hard-and-fast calculus, as the eye test also plays a part, but it provides a baseline to help guide our decisions.

So where will the 2016 team stand among Nick Saban’s greatest seasons at the college level? Click through to see our top 10.

2008 Alabama Crimson Tide

(12-2)

Last week: 6th AP / 6th Coaches

Nick Saban’s second team in Tuscaloosa looked like it could contend for the national title. With Glen Coffee and Mark Ingram running the ball well and John Parker Wilson ably guiding the offense at quarterback, Alabama was scoring over 30 points per game The defense held opponents to just over two touchdowns per game. And after opening the season with a decisive win over Clemson, the Crimson Tide rolled off 12 straight victories to win the SEC West with a perfect record.

But against Urban Meyer and the Florida Gators, Saban had no answers for Tim Tebow. The 2007 Heisman Trophy winner threw three touchdown passes as Florida won the SEC championship 31-20. The Tide were still selected to play in the Sugar Bowl, but the defense betrayed Saban as Alabama fell behind 21-0 in the first quarter against Utah and couldn’t fight its way back. This team began a run of eight straight 10-win seasons for the Tide, but it also failed to live up to its full expectations.

2013 Alabama Crimson Tide

(11-2)

Last week: 8th AP / 7th Coaches

Throughout their first 11 games, the 2013 Alabama team seemed destined to win a third straight national title. The Crimson Tide defense was dominant, averaging just 13.9 points allowed over the course of the season. Led by C.J. Mosley and Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, the Tide had three shutouts and held seven of their first 11 opponents to single digits on the scoreboard. And only three times did they allow more than 30 points to an opponent.

The first time, they escaped Kyle Field with a 49-42 victory over defending Heisman winner Johnny Manziel and Texas A&M. The second time they weren’t so lucky, as they fell to the Kick-Six against Auburn in an Iron Bowl that sent the Tigers and not the Tide to the final BCS championship game. After missing out on a shot at a third straight title, Saban’s team torpedoed further down the rankings after falling 45-31 in the Sugar Bowl against Oklahoma. It was a rare two-game losing streak to end the season yet still one of eight straight 10-win seasons for Saban in Tuscaloosa.

Dec 6, 2014; Atlanta, GA, USA; Missouri Tigers safety Braylon Webb (9) forces Alabama Crimson Tide wide receiver Amari Cooper (9) out of bounds in the first quarter of the 2014 SEC Championship at the Georgia Dome. Alabama beat Missouri 42-13. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports

2014 Alabama Crimson Tide

(12-2)

Last week: 4th AP / 4th Coaches

The 2014 Crimson Tide were the favorite to win the first College Football Playoff national championship when the FBS switched from the BCS system for the 2014 season. They opened October with a 23-17 loss at Ole Miss, but after the Rebels and Mississippi State both faded down the stretch Alabama once again played for the SEC championship. But after winning the conference and making the semifinal as the top-seeded team, the Tide were upset by an Ohio State team forced to start third-string quarterback Cardale Jones in just his second start ever.

Only once has a Nick Saban-coached Alabama team given up more points than the 18.4 conceded per game in 2010, and that was in Saban’s first season in Tuscaloosa in 2007. In addition to losing at Ole Miss, Alabama beat Arkansas by only one point the following week and also needed overtime to beat LSU. The wheels fell off completely when he was faced with his old nemesis Urban Meyer, who outcoached him in the Sugar Bowl to play for the inaugural CFP championship.

2010 Alabama Crimson Tide

(10-3)

Last week: 11th AP / 10th Coaches

Nick Saban’s fourth year in Tuscaloosa was disappointing for the Crimson Tide. In a year where they were defending an undefeated national title, the Tide won their first five of the year before falling by two touchdowns at South Carolina in early October. They lost again at LSU on the first weekend of November, then dropped the Iron Bowl game by a single point at home against Auburn. They redeemed the year in the postseason by routing Saban’s former team Michigan State 49-7 in the Capital One Bowl on New Year’s Day.

A loaded defense featured Marcell Dareus on the line, Dont’a Hightower and Courtney Upshaw at linebacker, and a slew of secondary stars like Mark Barron and Dre Kirkpatrick. Greg McElroy had not just Marquise Maze but also Julio Jones to catch his passes, and the backfield featured not returning 2009 Heisman winner Mark Ingram but also Trent Richardson and Eddie Lacy. It was one of just three times so far that Saban has failed to reach the SEC championship game during his time at Alabama.

2003 LSU Tigers

(13-1)

Last week: 2nd AP / 1st Coaches

The 2003 LSU team was undoubtedly the best unit Saban put together during his five years in Baton Rouge. Only a loss to Florida in October marred an otherwise perfect record as the Tigers beat out USC for the right to square off against Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl. After being hired away from Michigan State four years earlier, Saban’s first title ended a 45-year LSU drought — though they had to split it with the Trojans after the AP voted Rose Bowl winner USC to the top of its final poll.

The team needed luck to get into the BCS championship game. In addition to losing at home against the Gators, LSU cut things close in low-scoring wins against Georgia and Ole Miss. The title game against the Sooners ended 21-14, the Bayou Bengals’ third win within one score. Saban and offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher got the most out of Matt Mauck at quarterback and a deep group of skill players, scoring 33.9 points per game while the defense conceded just 11 on average. But they also faced just the 41st-toughest schedule en route to the title.

Jan 11, 2016; Glendale, AZ, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide center Ryan Kelly (70) prepares to snap the ball to quarterback Jake Coker (14) against the Clemson Tigers in the 2016 CFP National Championship at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

2015 Alabama Crimson Tide

(14-1)

Last week: 1st AP / 1st Coaches

The 2015-2016 College Football Playoff national champions won Nick Saban his fifth national title, and they did so despite losing in September at home against Ole Miss to drop out of the top ten of the polls. They rallied back with 12 straight wins, including decisive victories over former Saban schools LSU (30-16 in Tuscaloosa) and Michigan State (38-0 in the Cotton Bowl playoff semifinal). This might not be Saban’s most dominant team of his career, but it would be the career highlight of most other coaches.

With Lane Kiffin at offensive coordinator and Kirby Smart at defensive coordinator, Saban had one of the greatest staffs of his career. The offense, featuring Derrick Henry in the backfield, was 30th in the country in scoring. Most of that was due to struggling at home against Tennessee in October in a 19-14 win. The defense was third nationally in points allowed, as a unit featuring front seven stars like Reggie Ragland, Reuben Foster, and A’Shawn Robinson gave up just 15.1 points per game.

2009 Alabama Crimson Tide

(14-0)

Last week: 1st AP / 1st Coaches

The 2009 Alabama Crimson Tide wasNick Saban’s first national championship team in Tuscaloosa — and is the only one so far that has completed the season undefeated. So why does this Tide team rank outside the top three on this top ten list? Quite simply, there are a few teams that had the misfortune of losing a game but that have been far more dominant over the course of an entire season despite that setback.

The defense did its part, ranking second in the country in points allowed. But despite being led by Greg McElroy and featuring Heisman winner Mark Ingram on offense, the Tide actually ranked only 22nd nationally in scoring that season despite all the firepower. With close calls against teams like 7-6 Tennessee and 8-5 Auburn, Alabama scraped by to go unbeaten. In terms of margin of victory, they rank just seventh among Saban teams (but fourth when strength-of-schedule adjustments are made).

Oct 22, 2016; Tuscaloosa, AL, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Jalen Hurts (2) carries the ball up the field against the Texas A&M Aggies during the third quarter at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

2016 Alabama Crimson Tide

(8-0)

Last week: currently 1st AP / 1st Coaches

Perhaps it is a bold statement to make with only two-thirds of the regular season played, but at this point the 2016 Alabama team might end up being the best roster of Nick Saban’s two decades of coaching. Until they manage to finish the year, it is hard to place the team any higher than third on this list. Statistically this is currently the best team that Saban has ever fielded, but there are several variables that are likely to help normalize those figures back toward the mean, but the opportunity is there to climb up the list.

True freshman quarterback Jalen Hurts leads the most potent offense that Saban has yet enjoyed anywhere in his career. The defense is allowing fewer than 15 points per game, good for fourth nationally. Meanwhile the Tide have steamrolled a tough schedule that is among the half-dozen toughest in the country through eight games. A tough schedule the rest of the way puts them at risk for a defeat before the end of the year, but right now this year’s incarnation of the Tide is among Saban’s best ever.

2011 Alabama Crimson Tide

(12-1)

Last week: 1st AP / 1st Coaches

The 2011 Alabama team won Nick Saban’s third national championship and the second in two seasons for the Tide. The team opened November with a 9-6 overtime defeat at home to LSU, costing them the chance at an SEC championship, but the BCS formula ended up calculating Alabama into the national championship game anyway. Facing off in a rematch against the Bayou Bengals, Saban and the Crimson Tide shut out their rivals 21-0 for the victory in New Orleans.

That year Trent Richardson finished third in the Heisman voting, the leader of an offense that averaged five touchdowns per game. The defense, quarterbacked by Dont’a Hightower at linebacker, held opponents to just 8.2 points per game — the only time yet that a Saban defense has held its competition under 10 points per game over the course of an entire season. Undefeated in regulation, this team managed to avenge its only loss of the year for the crystal pigskin.

2012 Alabama Crimson Tide

(13-1)

Last week: 1st AP / 1st Coaches

At least at this point of his career, Nick Saban’s greatest season is probably the 2012 campaign where he guided Alabama to his fourth national title. So far it is the only team with which he successfully defended a national championship. They weren’t perfect, as Alabama lost to Johnny Manziel and Texas A&M at home during his Heisman-winning season, but they won the SEC title and then demolished Notre Dame 42-14 for the BCS national championship.

That Alabama team has the highest full-season margin of victory, either real or adjusted, of any team Saban has coached. Led by AJ McCarron at quarterback, Eddie Lacy and TJ Yeldon in the backfield, and Amari Cooper at receiver, this Tide team scored more points per game than any previous Saban team. A deep defense held opponents under 11 points per game, good for second best in Saban’s tenure as a coach. The combination of dynamic offense, dominant defense, and national title make this his best team to date.

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