Coaches Bryant, Saban alike in numerous ways

They hail from different parts of the country, have contrasting backgrounds and didn't come close to playing the same football positions during their younger days.

But those who have been around both Paul W. "Bear" Bryant and Nick Saban at the University of Alabama see parallels between them that go far beyond the obvious one.

"Oh yeah," said Major Ogilvie, a running back from 1977-80. "They both won championships."

Ask for a description of either and more often than not you'll hear words like tough, imposing and driven. While Bryant set the standard among college coaches during the 1960s and 1970s, Saban is arguably doing the same now.

Bryant won six national championships.

Saban was the first coach to win titles with two different major programs.

"I aint nothin' but a winner," Bryant said.

"We want to be a champion in everything that we do," Saban declared upon arriving at the Capstone in 2007.

For both, success lies in the details.

"He's so much into the organization like Coach Bryant was. Coach Bryant never really broke the rules, but he pushed them as far as he (could). That's what Coach Saban does," said Jack Rutledge, a guard from 1959-61. "Before him, I could watch these coaches coming here and they didn't adhere, they didn't do what they said they were going to do, they didn't stay with that group and the players knew that. So he makes them walk the line, from the offseason program (on)."

Actually, spring and summer conditioning is something that both have been known for. Bryant led the "Junction Boys," the nickname given to the players who survived his brutal first camp at Texas A&M, where more than two-thirds of the team quit. In Tuscaloosa he worked the players so hard in the Friedman Hall gymnasium that they frequently threw up into garbage cans.

"I think the most difficult part may have been the gym, to tell you the truth," said Charlie Stephens, an end from 1962-64.

Saban has his Fourth Quarter conditioning program, which can only be described as brutal. His term for a player getting sick is "making pizzas."

"If you're going to play at Alabama you're gonna have to learn to work hard," Ogilvie said. "That's where it starts. Beyond that there's the dedication, the commitment, the attitude that it takes to compete. I could go and on.

Bryant: Hit the opponent until he makes a mistake.

Saban: Make the opponent want to quit.

The similarities hardly end there.

Before "Mama called" Bryant back in 1958, he was 6-2-1 at Maryland, 60-23-6 at Kentucky and led the Wildcats to their first conference title, and 25-14-2 at Texas A&M where he had the Aggies on the doorstep of a national championship. His overall record was 91-39-9.

Saban was 9-2 at Toledo and co-champion of the Mid-American Conference, 34-24-1 at Michigan State where the Spartans just missed a Big Ten title, and 48-16 at LSU including the 2003 national championship. His pre-Tide record was almost identical, 91-42-1.

Bryant had more of a rebuilding job here as Alabama had just four wins the previous three seasons combined and was without a winning record since 1953. His first three teams on the Capstone went 5-4-1, 7-2-2 and 8-1-2 before winning the 1961 national championship.

During Saban's first year the team collapsed following disclosure of the textbook scandal that resulted in the suspension of key players, but beat Colorado in the Independence Bowl for a 7-6 record. He followed that with an undefeated regular season before losing in the 2008 SEC Championship Game and Sugar Bowl for a 12-2 finish.

Of course last year the Tide ran the table, 14-0, with "ran" being the key word. While sophomore Mark Ingram won the program's first Heisman Trophy the defense essentially shut down every running back it faced.

"If I was coaching that's the style I would use," said Keith Neighbors, a linebacker on the 1990 team. "If you can run the ball and stop the run, that's the part of football I enjoy.

"When Coach (Bill) Curry was here and we were more of a finesse offense, usually the teams we lost to were the ones to run it down your throats like Auburn. Coach (Gene) Stallings got here, that first spring we got tired of hitting we were beating on each other (so much).

"What's funny was Auburn went to a more finesse offense, hired one of the Bowdens, we became more physical and started winning. I love this style of offense."

Following the 1961 season Alabama only lost five games the next five years, going 10-1, 9-2 and then nearly became the first major college program to pull off a three-peat in national titles with seasons of 10-1, 9-1-1, 11-0.

After a late-decade dip Bryant dominated the 1970s, compiling a remarkable 103-16-1 record, with five of the losses in 1970.

"(They're) very similar," said David Hannah, a tackle from 1975-79. "If we were being recruited now, probably the same things that are bringing the guys in now are the same things that brought us in the 70s. That's that opportunity for excellence, and there aren't many teams in nation that can provide a kid the kind of opportunities that the University of Alabama can."

However, it is a little different now, especially with the size of the television contracts being signed and the emphasis placed on top programs throughout the country. The Southeastern Conference has the biggest deal, roughly $3 billion over 15 years with CBS and ESPN, with has trickled down and helped the 12 members immensely.

Consequently, regular improvements to the facilities have become a necessity in order to keep up with the competition. During the past few years alone Alabama has upgraded Bryant-Denny Stadium twice (the second end-zone expansion is due to be completed July 1), the football building, the weight room ... just about everything has been upgraded and the work continues.

"We had good facilities when we were here back in the 70s, but the stadium expansion, the locker room, the weight room, just all the facilities that (Director of Athletics Mal) Moore has (improved), there are no other colleges in the nation that has the physical facilities that Alabama has," 1978 defensive tackle William Davis said. "We've tried to stay ahead of the times and these young kids today are looking for that national exposure, TV time and things like that. That's all part of the program."

"I know athletes aren't the same, society has changed, but these guys work hard," Stephens said about the 2009 team.

Which leads to how the coaches are probably most alike, attitude. Things like discipline, endurance and mental toughness, haven't just been words with them, but taught as key fundamentals. So while the schemes and conditioning may be similar they've still just means to the same end, and exemplified by the lack of mistakes on the playing field.

Except for special teams during the first half of the season, Alabama didn't make many in 2009.

"To me, the character of the team you saw come out, based on the philosophy of Coach Saban, of just doing what it takes to win, to make the plays, playing for 60 minutes, every play, that's what I think was preached and I think the guys bought into it, bought into the philosophy of the program. The results have been great," former cornerback Jeremiah Castille (1979-82) said.

"The principles that allow for success, I don't think they change."