Nick Saban Reveals Why He 'Never' Thought of Himself as GOAT Coach in CFB History

Nick Saban "never thought" of himself as the greatest coach in college football history as he added national championship after national championship to his resume.

Channing Crowder, co-host for the Pivot Podcast, asked Saban in an episode released Tuesday when he realized he was the GOAT of college coaches or at least one of the greats.

"You know, I never thought of it that way," Saban responded. "When I was coaching, it was almost like when you're a player. The next season (is) coming and you know you gotta go perform and be the best that you can be so you can keep your job. Well, I never worried about keeping my job, but I did have this sort of pride and performance that every year was like taking a new job."

Now that he's retired, the 73-year-old added he still doesn't look at himself as a GOAT in the coaching profession, passing some of the credit for his success to his coaching staffs.

A refusal to rest on his laurels helps to explain why Saban won seven national titles and had 297 wins along with an .806 winning percentage during his stops at Alabama, LSU, Michigan State and Toledo.

Especially in college sports, there's little time to sit and reflect on your achievements. Once the season ends, a lot of your best players leave and you have to find replacements who will be just as good, if not better.

And it doesn't take long for the aura around a legendary head coach to puncture.

Florida State went 12-0 and was a national champion in 1999. The Seminoles went on to have two 10-win seasons in Bobby Bowden's last 10 years at the helm. Penn State had a Top-10 finish in the AP poll three times in Joe Paterno's final 12 seasons.

Even Saban seemingly wasn't immune from this. When he left, Alabama was no longer the unstoppable machine it had been earlier in his tenure.

The Crimson Tide's 9-4 record in 2024 points to how the Hall of Famer got out while the getting was good.