Does Alabama need an NFL quarterback to win a national title?

For more than a year, Mel Kiper and other NFL draft experts have touted Alabama quarterback Jake Coker as a player with potential to be an early-round pick.

Coker’s strong arm and mobility are two traits to catch the attention of NFL scouts.

But for all of his physical talent, Coker has yet to win a starting job, first losing out to Jameis Winston at Florida State, then Blake Sims last year after transferring to Alabama. He’s expected to get a starting opportunity this fall, although that’s far from a given with David Cornwell competing hard.

The NFL will at least look at Coker, especially if he starts. It’s too soon to predict whether Coker will get drafted, but Sims, who finished second in the SEC in passing yards last season, did not.

Does the Crimson Tide need its quarterback to flash NFL potential to achieve its goal of winning a national championship?

History sends a mixed message. Alabama claims 15 national championships, five of them coming between 1925 and 1941. None of the first five championship teams had a quarterback drafted by the NFL, but of course college and pro football were much different games back then, both in X’s and O’s and in terms of business.

Since 1961, when Bear Bryant won his first national title, nine different starting quarterbacks have led the Tide to 10 championship seasons. Seven were drafted by NFL teams. An eighth — Pat Trammell, who led the 1961 squad — was selected by the Dallas Texans in the 24th round of the AFL Draft.

Trammell also was a unique case. One of the best quarterbacks in Alabama history, he was an All-American and SEC Player of the Year in 1961. Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi tried to persuade him to pursue a pro football career, but he chose to attend medical school instead.

Since then only Steadman Shealy, who quarterbacked the 1979 Crimson Tide to a No. 1 finish in the final AP poll, went undrafted.

Namath, of course, went on to the Pro Football Hall of Fame and Ken Stabler, a backup on the 1965 team, also starred in the NFL. Todd, the sixth overall pick in 1976, threw for more than 20,000 yards in a 10-year NFL career. Rutledge was mostly a backup in 14 seasons.

More recently, both McElroy and McCarron were picked in the late rounds, but McElroy is already out of the NFL while McCarron appears stuck at third string. Was their success at Alabama enough reason for NFL teams to risk a late pick on them, or are the Crimson Tide’s titles at least partially because it had NFL-caliber quarterbacks? It’s hard to say.

Among the non-Alabama schools to win the national title since 2009, Auburn and Florida State were led by No. 1 overall picks in Cam Newton and Jameis Winston. Ohio State’s J.T. Barrett and Cardale Jones are both projected first-rounders. The Buckeyes beat Oregon — and 2015 No. 2 overall pick Marcus Mariota — in the College Football Playoff championship.

So it is safe to say having a quarterback coveted by NFL teams wouldn’t hurt Alabama’s chances. NFL.com draft analyst Chad Reuter seems to think that Coker is that player:

Yes, I know Coker (6-5, 232) hasn’t won the starting job for the Crimson Tide as of this writing. His lack of experience (just 17 games played for Florida State and Alabama in three years, no starts) will be a strike against him in some scouts’ eyes. But even in the limited time he’s had on the field as a backup, Coker has shown mobility and arm strength to be a solid NFL backup/spot starter in the T.J. Yates mold. If he has a solid season as a starter for Nick Saban this year, Coker should land at least a fifth-round draft slot (Yates was a fifth-rounder); he could go much higher if he lights up the scoreboard this season.

Nick Saban’s title teams have been deep and talented enough to get it done with quarterbacks who were very good college players, if not future All-Pros.

Again, it’s too early to tell whether Coker or Cornwell will become an NFL draft selection. But that answer may determine whether this Alabama team can win a national title.