After winning yet another National Championship at Alabama, Nick Saban continues to stake his claim as the greatest coach in the history of college football.

So what is it that makes Saban so successful? Why does he stand out from all the other outstanding coaches in the country? Aside from simply pointing to the number of championships he’s racked up over time, ESPN NFL analyst Louis Riddick offered up his insight as to what separates Saban and his mentor and friend Bill Belichick, who most would argue is the best NFL coach of all time.

Not only does Riddick study the workings of both coaches for a living for ESPN, he played for them both in Cleveland — Riddick was a defensive back in the NFL for nearly a decade. Riddick also isn’t your typical analyst, he’s so well thought of around the NFL he’s been interviewed for general manager openings and is in discussion to take over for Jon Gruden’s role as the lead analyst on Monday Night Football.

During a recent appearance on the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast, hosted by Richard Deitsch, Riddick was asked what exactly it is about Saban that makes him stand out from other coaches.

“First and foremost, he’s an expert at the game of football. He understands all the positions, how they all work together. He could coach any position if it was necessary. Bill Belichick the same,” Riddick said on the podcast. “If one day, the quarterback coach or the tight end coach or the inside linebacker coach for some reason couldn’t coach for a couple of weeks, a couple games, these guys could step right in and coach that position equal to or better than their position coach. They have an overall working knowledge of the game that is freaking incredible. I’ve seen it, I’ve seen Bill do it, I know Nick can do it.”

Riddick went a step further and discussed what it’s like playing for Saban in the defensive backfield and how the coach helps to get the absolute best out of every player he can.

“In specifics to playing defensive back, which is Nick’s specific expertise, the nuance of the game from what you need to know pre-snap as far as what your opponent is going to do — based on their alignment and their personnel — he gives those pitches to you in a way that makes sense to you and ways you can apply functionally once the ball is snapped,” Riddick continued. “The mental preparation, this goes for Bill too — when I talk about this stuff, they both do it — they give you the information in a way you can use and apply once the game starts going better than anyone I’ve ever been around.

“Post-snap, they drill you and hold you to such a high level of accountability for doing it, fundamentally the way they teach it to you, they direct those things over and over to the point where it becomes a part of your muscle memory and you wind up playing the game fundamentally at a level that is even higher than you thought you could play it at. And the reason you do it is because they won’t let you not do it, because if you don’t do it the way they want you to, you won’t play for them. In college, you will sit the bench, you’ll wind up transferring or having your ego destroyed because you thought you were some hot-shot five-star but he won’t put you on the field because you won’t do it the way he wants.”

Simply put, according to Riddick, Saban’s greatness comes down to one key — accountability. While other coaches talk about it, the ESPN analyst says Saban and Belichick demand it from everyone in their organization.

“The accountability is really the thing that separates them from other coaches I’ve been around,” Riddick concluded.