"I would tell you it's Nick Saban": Stephen A. Smith makes his pick between Bill Belichick and former Alabama HC as greatest coach debate continues
In the last 24 hours, the football world has been feeling the "end of an era" vibe.
Long-term head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide, Nick Saban, decided to retire after a glorious 33-year career. Close on the heels of that, New England Patriots decided to part ways with Bill Belichick, their head coach for the past 23 years.
Both men won a large number of championships. Saban pocketed 7 national championships, while Belichick won 6 Super Bowl titles with the Patriots.
The debate regarding the better coach is expected to rage on for years, even though one coached in the NFL and the other at the collegiate level. Someone who has already made his mind up about this issue is ESPN's Stephen A Smith:
“I would tell you it's Nick Saban “
Is Saban really the better coach?
Smith believes that Nick Saban is the greater coach between the two distinguished gentlemen. When you look at the number of titles won, Saban does outperform Belichick.
Taking into account that the College Football hierarchy is constantly changing, depending on where the talent is and how long they stay in their program, for Saban to constantly send the Crimson Tide to national championships and New Year's Six bowls has been an impressive feat.
However, it must not be forgotten that Belichick turned the New England Patriots into a dynasty. The pairing of him and quarterback Tom Brady will always be the stuff of legends. The two of them made it to 9 Super Bowls together, winning 6 of them.
Before Belichick went to New England, he was head coach of the Cleveland Browns and, infamously, the New York Jets for one day. It is widely known that Bellichek struggled with the Browns. In contrast, Saban came to Alabama already armed with one national championship, which he won with LSU.
Belichick without Brady- The Struggles
A hallmark of a great coach is their ability to keep up the strong performances when the star players are long gone.
For Saban, due to the nature of college football, this was something that he successfully did year after year.
On the other hand, the loss of Tom Brady changed the Patriots and Belichick's fortunes forever. Almost overnight, they went from a team who were Super Bowl favorites to a team that struggled to make the playoffs. This season's 4-13 record seemed to be the final nail in the coffin for Belichick. Belichick now needs to save his career, something that Nick Saban never had to do.
Do you agree with Stephen A Smith? Sound off in the comments section.