Much has been made about Nick Saban’s formula for championship success at Alabama. But on Wednesday, it was put in the context of longevity, and how Saban is by far the longest-tenured coach in the SEC. This is Saban’s 19th appearance at SEC Media Days.

Saban was asked about the key to longevity in college football, which was described as a “fickle business.”

It’s obviously easier said than done, as we’ve watched former Saban assistants struggle at new programs.

“I think that’s simple. You’ve got to win,” Saban said from the podium. “So what does it take to win? I think that answers the question better than anything. I think you have to have culture in your organization, which probably comes from the mindset of the people in your organization to have goals and aspirations for what they want to accomplish and what they want to do – and I’m talking about players as well here – and they have to have a good understanding of what does it take to accomplish those goals and aspirations to be the best that they can be, and how do they have to edit their behavior to be able to do that and can they have the discipline, self-discipline on a daily basis to execute and do the things they need to do, make the choices and decisions they need to make, so that they can be the best that they can be?”

It’s a proven formula as Saban is 170-23 in 15 seasons at Alabama, including six national championships.

“I think what we’ve always tried to do for our players is create more value for the players by how we use personal development, academic support, career development, the way we develop football players to create a successful culture for them to see the players before them, in terms of what they bought into, what they did that helped them be successful so the next player has the best chance to buy in to the same things and to that culture so they have the best chance to be successful and the best chance to develop personally, academically, and athletically,” Saban said. “That’s how we try to win, but I think it’s probably good players, good coaches, supportive administration that gives you the tools that you need to be able to continue to provide the resources to help the players be successful are all probably key ingredients of that.”