Bill Clark’s job with the UAB Blazers would be the most impressive thing of any coach on Tennessee football’s schedule given the circumstances if Nick Saban didn’t maximize what you could do. Even by great coach and great program standards, Saban is in a league of his own. We can say what Clark has done. But the question is what has Saban NOT done?
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For context, Bear Bryant is beloved for winning six national championships in 25 years at Alabama. Well, Saban has won five in 12 years, less than half that time. He also does have six in 18 years coaching in the SEC when you factor in his LSU Tigers days.
With 24 years of experience overall coaching college ball and 26 when you include his NFL years, a 6-10 season his second year with the Miami Dolphins is the only losing season on his resume. But he’s got eight SEC championships and nine conference championships overall when you count what he did with the Toledo Rockets in 1990, his one year there.
Add in the fact that he directed the Michigan State Spartans through a period in which they were a wreck as a program, never having a losing season, upsetting the No. 1 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes in 1998 and going 9-2 in 1999, and you can’t undersell what he’s done.
Simply put, Saban is already the best to ever do it. He’s by far the best coach alive, even with what Dabo Swinney has done in two years at the Clemson Tigers. Swinney is close since two national titles at Clemson is almost as impressive as five at Alabama. But for now, Saban tops the list.
Once again, Jeremy Pruitt is expected to lose to Saban, his former mentor, this year. Tennessee football has no shot against Alabama, and that’s been accepted by Vol Nation. Pruitt has to build his program up first before even coming close to having a shot.