The Very Best Coach In All Of Sports Is…

By: Jaime Samuelsen

It seems like every time I look at a TV these days, I see Nick Saban.

The Alabama coach was on last week on ESPN where he gave his bizarre idea to have Penn State fans 'taxed' to help pay child abuse victims. He was on following the announcement of the NCAA sanctions on Monday. And he was on twice again on Tuesday as ESPN gave us 'full court' coverage of the SEC media days down south.

Saban elicits plenty of reaction from plenty of cities. Miami Dolphin fans loathe him. LSU fans hate him even though they should thank their lucky stars for the national title that he won and the program that he helped build. And Michigan State fans don't like how he left the program prior to the Citrus Bowl even though most agree he was a great coach in the late 90s.

Love him (Alabama fans) or hate him (pretty much everybody else) – you have to admit one thing. He's the best coach in sports.

Apologies to the people he's spurned and apologies to the people who don't agree, but you're wrong. There's nobody better.

Saban won a National Championships with LSU in 2003 and two with Alabama in 2009 and 2011. Who else can claim three titles in the last nine seasons? The answer is nobody. But I'll go one better. Name another active coach that can claim three titles total. The list is pretty short. Duke's Mike Krzyzewski has won four at Duke. Same total for Gregg Popovich and the Spurs. Bill Belichick has three with the Patriots. All are among the best coaches in the history of their sport. None have won at more than one location. Saban has.

He's lost 12 games in six seasons in Tuscaloosa (including six in his first year as he tried to rebuild what Mike Shula left behind). He lost 16 games in five years at LSU including five in one season. Alabama is loaded once again this season and based on recruiting, should be loaded for years to come.

Sure there are some negatives. Saban has been a bit of a vagabond in his career, but he's hardly Larry Brown. He left MSU for LSU because he could make more money and he could get away from the specter of Michigan. He went to the Dolphins (for the money) and for the chance to coach in the NFL. And he returned to college football because he realized in Miami that the NCAA was his true love. If he bolts Bama, then I have no defense for him. But it seems like he's going to stay. He tried the NFL – didn't love it – and now realizes that he has a dynasty in place in Alabama.

There are plenty of great coaches in all the sports. But guys like Krzyzewski have to prove that they can do it at more than one school. Guys like Popovich and Belichick have to prove that they can do it without a certain superstar (Tim Duncan and Tom Brady). Saban has done it with different players and different schools. And he seems poised to keep doing it.

You may hate him. That's fine. But you have to admit that he's the very best.