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Better coach: Nick Saban or Bear Bryant? Saban answers and gives insight into his coaching future
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The morning after seemed to be just as surreal for the members of Alabama’s football program as the night before. Despite the euphoria in the air from Atlanta following Tua Tagovailoa’s 46-yard walk-off touchdown in overtime of the National Championship Game, a select few members of the Tide football program were still required to wake up early and do one final press conference with the media after the win.
Nick Saban, Tagovailoa, and Da’Ron Payne were the selected contingent for the task that met with the media Tuesday morning. While there were a few good questions directed at the players, the three following questions for Saban particularly stood out.
When asked about his place in college football history and if he believed he had surpassed the accomplishments of legendary coach Paul “Bear” Bryant (both coaches now have six national championships — the only two coaches to have that many), Saban said he believed Bryant was the better coach.
The current Alabama coach cited Bear’s longevity and his impact on the game of college football, which he said will never be surpassed.
Saban was also asked about his future. How long does he plan to coach?
“I think that as long as I feel like I can do a good job for the players and our team… to help them have success (I will coach). I’ve been a part of a team since I was nine years old. Hard for me to imagine not being a part of a team. I enjoy the competition. I enjoy the players. There’s a lot of self-gratification to see these guys have success. These are the things that I know I cannot do forever but I enjoy them and hope to do them in the future.”
Saban was asked about his quarterbacks and where each of them stood following Tagovailoa’s epic second-half performance.
“We have two really good QBs right now. We haven’t really made a decision about that. I don’t think it’s imperative to make that decision now. I hope we can do that in the future.”
Saban added one final thought on the play of Tua and noted the team around him elevated its play as well.
“Tua played a great game but how his teammates responded to him was just as important.”
A graduate of the University of Tennessee, Michael Wayne Bratton oversees the news coverage for Saturday Down South. Michael previously worked for FOX Sports and NFL.com
