Is anyone surprised?
University of Alabama football coach Nick Saban was listed as college football’s top-ranked coach (128 FBS coaches) heading into the 2016 season, per Athlon Sports on Tuesday.
Saban, 64, will enter his 10th coaching season in the fall with a program that has witnessed him achieve a 100-18 record (84.7 percent). Since arriving to Tuscaloosa in 2007, Saban has changed the dynamic of Crimson Tide football and the city as a whole. He’s won four Southeastern Conference championships and four national championships (three in the BCS era) in nine seasons.
He’s the envy of everyone when it comes to recruiting as Saban’s brought in nine top-five signing classes (seven No. 1-ranked classes), with all of them earning a national championship ring.
Running back Derrick Henry became Saban’s second Heisman Trophy winner, totaling 2,219 rushing yards and 28 touchdowns on 395 carries during the 2015 season. Fifty-eight Crimson Tide players made it to the NFL Draft under Saban, including 18 first-round selections. Alabama eyes a second opportunity to win back-to-back national titles in 2016. The last time this feat occurred was in the 2011 and 2012 seasons, where it defeated both LSU and Notre Dame in the BCS national title game.
Stephen M. Smith is a senior analyst and columnist for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @Smsmith_TDALMag.
