Nick Saban passes Paul 'Bear' Bryant for most national titles

In a season where Alabama rewrote the record books, Nick Saban passed perhaps the biggest milestone of them all. With the Crimson Tide’s 52-24 victory over Ohio State in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game, Saban now has seven national titles to his name, more than any other head coach in college football history.

Saban entered the night tied with Alabama coaching legend Paul “Bear” Bryant for the most national titles. Monday’s title is Saban’s sixth with Alabama (2009, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017 and 2020). He also won the national title in 2003 while coaching LSU. Bryant won all his six championships at Alabama (1961, 1964, 1965, 1973, 1978).

"I think Coach Bryant is sort of in a class of his own in terms of what he was able to accomplish, what his record is, the longevity that he had and the tradition he established," Saban said after the game. "If it wasn't for Coach Bryant, we would never be able to do what we did. I mean, he's the one that made Alabama and the tradition at Alabama a place where lots of players wanted to come. We've been able to build on that with great support. His family has always supported us in a tremendous way that has helped us have the success that we have."

This season marks Saban’s second undefeated team, joining the 2009 Alabama squad which went 14-0, beating Texas in the 2010 BCS National Championship Game. It could also go down as his biggest achievement.

Alabama (13-0) cruised through an SEC-only regular season while navigating distractions and complications caused by COVID-19. Saban contracted the virus during the middle of the season and was forced to sit out the Tide’s 42-13 victory over Auburn in the Iron Bowl. He returned the following week to lead Alabama to a 55-17 victory at LSU.

Alabama’s roster featured five unanimous All-Americans, matching the NCAA single-season mark by one team. The group was headlined by Heisman Trophy winner DeVonta Smith, Saban’s third Heisman winner.

Saban’s seventh title comes at the age of 69, the same age as Bryant when he retired. The current Alabama head coach has shown no signs of slowing down and said last month he wants to continue coaching “for as long as I feel like I can contribute in a positive way to the program.”

Regardless of Saban’s future, Monday night’s title cements his place in college football history while adding yet another accolade to Alabama’s storybook season.

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