Continuing our coaching debate series, now that we’ve done the debate on the coaching hires that matter, let’s sink our teeth into some big questions like Saban vs. Kirby.
The case for Saban:
He’s the greatest of all time, hands down. His success on the field is second-to-none, and no one navigated the past 20 years of college football better than Saban. The Tide have six national titles during his tenure in Tuscaloosa, and they haven’t had more than three losses in a season since 2010. Alabama is still bringing in top recruiting classes every season and they put more players in the pros than anyone. They’re the model CFB program.
The case against Saban:
All good things must come to an end, and Saban is now 71 years old. He doesn’t act his age by any means, but father time remains undefeated. Additionally, the hire of Tommy Rees as the new offensive coordinator is a bit curious and has the potential to backfire.
The case for Smart:
Going back-to-back is very hard to do – just ask Saban – and the Dawgs just did it with relative ease. The recruiting machine that he has had going in Athens continues to recruit the trenches better than anyone in the country on a year-in and year-out basis. And he’s still a relatively young man in the coaching game with a ton of time ahead of him. It’s not out of the realm of possibility for the Dawgs to win three of the next five titles in addition to the two they’re already sitting on.
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The case against Smart:
The SEC East has been very poor behind the Dawgs over the past few seasons, with the best competition routinely coming from Kentucky. Tennessee and South Carolina have both made big strides, and the division as a whole will be much better moving forward. Also, relying on a walk-on quarterback probably isn’t the best way to go in the long run.
The verdict:
Kirby Smart is on a real run right now, and a year from now, I might tell you that he’s the top dog. But Saban is the GOAT for a reason, and you can simply never count him out.
