Nick Saban could tie Paul “Bear” Bryant with six national championships if Alabama beats Georgia on Monday night at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
Saban’s national championship run started in 2003 when he was head coach at LSU and continued at Alabama, where he won national titles in 2009, ’11, ’12 and ’15.
Bryant, who died on Jan. 26, 1983, at the age of 69, won national titles in 1961, ’64, ’65, ’73, ’78 and ’79.
Monday’s clash between Saban’s Crimson Tide and Kirby Smart’s Bulldogs will kick off at 7 p.m. CST on ESPN. Alabama is a 5-point favorite.
Alabama Head Coach Nick Saban directs the Crimson Tide during practice on Thursday. (Amelia B. Barton / University of Alabama Athletics)
Alabama quarterback Jalen Hurts (2) practices for the national championship game vs. Georgia. (Amelia B. Barton / University of Alabama Athletics)
The Alabama Crimson Tide practices Thursday in preparation for Monday’s national championship game. (Amelia B. Barton / University of Alabama Athletics)
The Alabama offensive line gets ready for Georgia. (Amelia B. Barton / University of Alabama Athletics)
Alabama wide receiver Cam Sims (17) practices with the Tide on Thursday. (Amelia B. Barton / University of Alabama Athletics)
Two days after securing a spot in the national championship game, Alabama hits the field for a Wednesday practice. (Robert Sutton / University of Alabama Athletics)
Two days after securing a spot in the national championship game, Alabama hits the field for a Wednesday practice. (Robert Sutton / University of Alabama Athletics)
Two days after securing a spot in the national championship game, Alabama hits the field for a Wednesday practice. (Robert Sutton / University of Alabama Athletics)
The Saban/Smart relationship dates to 2004 at LSU. Saban was looking for a defensive backfield coach and hired Smart, then a graduate assistant at Florida State. Smart also worked with Saban as the safeties coach for the NFL’s Miami Dolphins, and then followed Saban to Alabama, where he became the defensive coordinator.
Now Smart, in his second year as head coach at Georgia, will try to beat his mentor and win the national title for the Bulldogs. Their last one was in 1980, when Vince Dooley was the coach and Herschel Walker ran for 150 yards and two touchdowns against Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl.
Saban is 11-0 against his former assistants, including a 24-7 win over Florida State and Jimbo Fisher in the 2017 season opener at the stadium where the championship game will be played.
“I don’t think this game is about coaches,” Saban said. “I think it’s about the players. I mean, I didn’t catch any passes or make any tackles (in the 24-6 win over Clemson). The players did it all.”
Alabama Head Coach Nick Saban could win his sixth national championship on Monday if his Crimson Tide beats the Georgia Bulldogs, coached by his former assistant Kirby Smart. But Saban says the game is about the players, not the coaches. (Kent Gidley / University of Alabama Athletics)
Alabama running back Damien Harris (34) enjoys his team’s dominance over Clemson in this week’s Sugar Bowl. (Crimson Tide Photos)
Alabama defensive lineman Raekwon Davis (99) during Alabama’s Sugar Bowl victory over Clemson. (Crimson Tide Photos)
Alabama wide receiver Calvin Ridley (3) during his team’s New Year’s Day victory over Clemson. (Crimson Tide Photos)
Alabama defensive lineman Da’Shawn Hand (9) makes a play during the Sugar Bowl matchup with Clemson. (Crimson Tide Photos)
Alabama linebacker Anfernee Jennings (33) believes the Tide is headed for No. 1 again. (Crimson Tide Photos)
Alabama quarterback Jalen Hurts (2) during Alabama’s semifinal defeat of the Clemson Tigers. (Crimson Tide Photos)
Alabama running back Damien Harris (34) gains some yards against Clemson. (Crimson Tide Photos)
Alabama quarterback Jalen Hurts (2) during Monday’s Sugar Bowl, which set up the Tide for another shot at the national title. (Crimson Tide Photos)
Both Smart and Saban would have preferred more time between the semifinals and the championship game of the College Football Playoff.
The Georgia-Oklahoma game on Jan. 1 at the Rose Bowl went to two overtimes before the Bulldogs won 54-48.
And the Alabama-Clemson game wasn’t over until nearly midnight last Monday. Saban kept his team in New Orleans and they flew back to Tuscaloosa Tuesday.
Last year, Saban said, there were 10 days between the semifinal game with Washington and the championship game with Clemson.
“That makes sense,” Smart said.
So the two coaches whose teams will battle for the national championship may have sent the College Football Playoff Committee and ESPN a message.
That message: More rest and preparation needed.
Back to Bryant, who had little in common with Saban.
While Bryant was happy to be athletic director at Alabama, Saban has wanted no part of the job. Instead, he has preferred to spend his time recruiting and, like Bryant, playing a little golf during the summer.
Coach Paul “Bear” Bryant and other coaches mark the first of his six national championships at Alabama in 1961. (Contributed)
Coach Paul “Bear” Bryant announces his resignation as Alabama’s head football coach in 1982. (Contributed)
Bryant awaits the beginning of the 1981 Alabama-Auburn game. Alabama’s victory gave Bryant his 315th win, making him at the time the winningest coach in the history of college football. (Contributed)
Bryant on the job that won him six national championships. (Contributed)
Paul “Bear” Bryant served as both head football coach and athletic director for the University of Alabama. (Contributed)
Coach Paul “Bear” Bryant at the 1982 Liberty Bowl, his final game and 323rd victory as Alabama’s head coach. (Contributed)
A monument honoring Paul “Bear” Bryant is unveiled at Legion Field in Birmingham, scene of many Alabama victories. (Contributed)
