Alabama's Nick Saban vs Patriots' Bill Belichick: Who is a better coach?
Nick Saban and Bill Belichick are two of the biggest names in the current football coaching scene. Both have seen extreme highs and lows, and both are largely synonyms with their teams. It's just the level of football and players that they deal with that separates them a bit.
Both Belichick and Saban have dominated the 2000s and 2010s of football, one in the NFL and the other in college football. Both seem to have similar personalities and a fatherly stature for their players. But who is the better coach of the duo that has redefined the meaning of the word dynasty in football?
Here is an attempt at comparing Nick Saban and Bill Belichick to determine who is better.
Nick Saban vs. Bill Belichick: Who is better?
While Nick Saban and Bill Belichick coach at different levels, their level of achievement is almost the same.
Saban has won seven national championship titles: six with the Alabama Crimson Tide and one with the LSU Tigers.
Belichick, on the other hand, boasts six Super Bowl titles as a head coach, all with the New England Patriots in the NFL. If his record as a defensive coordinator is included, the number shoots up to eight.
In his time as a college football head coach, Saban has won 287 games while losing 70. Belichick has the most wins (331), but he has also lost 171 games. But there is one thing that separates both legends.
Belichick has won all his Super Bowl titles as a head coach with a single team and a single quarterback, Tom Brady. Brady is now the undisputed GOAT of the game and has won another title with a different coach, Bruce Arians. But Belichick hasn't been the same since Brady left the Patriots.
However, Saban has won seven titles across two teams and different QBs. Now, who is better? It's up to the fans to decide.
Nick Saban vs. Bill Belichick: Comparing the duo's final season
While both coaches leave the sidelines with several accolades to their name, the two had very contrasting last seasons at their posts.
Things looked bleak in Tuscaloosa for the Crimson Tide as they struggled to find their footing at the start of the season with a quarterback dilemma for Nick Saban and a loss to future SEC opponents, the Texas Longhorns at the Bryant-Denny stadium in Week 2.
After that loss, Alabama had a few close calls against Texas A&M (26-20), Arkansas (24-21), and Auburn(27-24) winning by a margin of less than 7, while being heavy favorites.
However, they finished the season on a high note stopping one of the most dominant teams of all time in Georgia while as Nick Saban lifted the 10th SEC title of his career.
Saban and crew rolled into the College Football Playoff making it his eighth appearance, but were stopped in their tracks by eventual champions Michigan in the Rose Bowl.
On the other hand, Belichick's Patriots finished the 2023-24 NFL season with just four wins, putting up the joint second-worst record in the league (4-13), only behind the Carolina Panthers (2-15).
They had their worst start to the season since 1995, with just one win in their first six games. The Patriots also finished the season with atleast 10 losses for the first time since 2000.
Looking at the AFC, New England had their worst winning percentage (.235) since 2000. That was also the last time they had finished at the bottom of the AFC before the 2023 season.
Finally, the 13th loss of the season came for the first time for the Patriots since 1992. A 38-3 loss against the Cowboys in Week 4, a 34-0 shutout against the New Orleans Saints in Week 5, and a 6-0 loss against the Chargers in Week 13 were just a few of the lowest points for Belichick and the Patriots in 2023.
To sum it up, this was Bill Belichick's worst season as the head coach of the New England Patriots.