Tom Osborne vs. Nick Saban

[huskerfan333157]

Calling him the 'best' for me is super super relative due to the fact that again the guy has pretty had nothing but top 10 and top 5 recruiting classes at his disposal. It's the same reason that while I thought Phil Jackson was a good coach I never thought he was as 'guru like' as the media mostly had him portrayed after he won all of those championships with Jordan and co.

The sexy pick is Saban but when I think of him for me at least I'm definitely not thinking that he's the 'greatest' ever. When I really think of what he's done I immediately also think of the bevy of college talent as well as staff that he's had to work while he's been at Alabama. Other people can think of him as the greatest though if that's how they want to see him. Not myself.

Let's discredit Osborne's 97 championship then since he had top 10 recruiting classes in 95 and 96.

Ah. The ol' cherry picker stat. Emfinger and Lemming had us as having the 9th and 10th class in 96 as well as having the 3rd and 5th best class in 95. Wallace however had our 95 class ranked 10th. What has Saban been puling in these days?

In the past 5 years Alabama is ranked #1 as far as recruiting classes according to 247's composite rankings. Pretty sure Osborne came nowhere near classes like this.

Of course Alabama's No. 1 in 5-year recruiting rankings

Everyone is discrediting saban's coaching prowess due to his recruiting prowess yet not mentioning that Osborne had good recruiting classes as well. Once again, Osborne had two #5 recruiting classes (95 and 96).

 

[huskerfan333157]

Recruiting players is part of the job description of a college football coach, isn't it? Why in the world should Saban be discredited for getting #1 classes? That's part of his job.

Phil Jackson comparison doesn't work. 1) it wasn't his job or ability to draft MJ and 2) he had the best player ever for like a decade in a sport where 1 player can win you rings. In college football, you get guys for a few years (need to consistently recruit at elite level) and one player doesn't make that big of a difference.

Probably not popular around here, but Saban has passed TO on all time great list. Saban is probably already #1. That's no indictment of TO, what he did was amazing and still top 10 all time.

Saban has not passed TO all time. All time pain in the neck maybe. Almost all he does is chew on folks and throw tantrums. I never saw TO do either. Saban has won a lot. But he is in a dream situation. The hosses down there are his to lose. TO flat out coached people. He won a national title when the other team (Miami) was unquestionably more stacked with talent. When has Saban won a title when the other team had more talent? Osborne just out coached them. Had his program in a better place. He out-offensed Steve Spurrier. He once had an awkward moment just to see how it feels. I think a lot of folks are just caught up in the moment.

You're just being a complete homer and have no objectivity whatsoever. Was Alabama a dream job before Saban got there? NO. Was lsu a dream job before Saban got there? NO.

 

[jaws]

Larry Kehres is the best coach of all time. He won 11 National championships playing in a playoff system.

I can verify this but I might be a little biased. Kind of like Huskers fans are with Osborne.

 

[dvdcrr]

Recruiting players is part of the job description of a college football coach, isn't it? Why in the world should Saban be discredited for getting #1 classes? That's part of his job.

Phil Jackson comparison doesn't work. 1) it wasn't his job or ability to draft MJ and 2) he had the best player ever for like a decade in a sport where 1 player can win you rings. In college football, you get guys for a few years (need to consistently recruit at elite level) and one player doesn't make that big of a difference.

Probably not popular around here, but Saban has passed TO on all time great list. Saban is probably already #1. That's no indictment of TO, what he did was amazing and still top 10 all time.

Saban has not passed TO all time. All time pain in the neck maybe. Almost all he does is chew on folks and throw tantrums. I never saw TO do either. Saban has won a lot. But he is in a dream situation. The hosses down there are his to lose. TO flat out coached people. He won a national title when the other team (Miami) was unquestionably more stacked with talent. When has Saban won a title when the other team had more talent? Osborne just out coached them. Had his program in a better place. He out-offensed Steve Spurrier. He once had an awkward moment just to see how it feels. I think a lot of folks are just caught up in the moment.

You're just being a complete homer and have no objectivity whatsoever. Was Alabama a dream job before Saban got there? NO. Was lsu a dream job before Saban got there? NO.

Yes, I believe both of those jobs had tons of potential in terms of regional talent and fan base. Look, you can defend the guy all you want, but TO did more at NU than Saban ever could. Its easy to be a homer, when the cabinet is clear full of Outland, Lombardi, Heisman trophies, Conference plaques and Championship trophies. We are talking about one of the best ever who never did an about face and left a team High and Dry like Saban did.

 

[suh_fan93]

Larry Kehres is the best coach of all time. He won 11 National championships playing in a playoff system.

I can verify this but I might be a little biased. Kind of like Huskers fans are with Osborne.

I feel he did more with less so sorry but no bias here. If the roles were reversed I'd go with Saban. Bama has dominated recruiting unlike any other college team has for at least the last 5 years now. That is beyond impressive. Osborne had some good recruiting classes but nothing compared to what Alabama regularly pulls in.

 

[huskerfan333157]

Recruiting players is part of the job description of a college football coach, isn't it? Why in the world should Saban be discredited for getting #1 classes? That's part of his job.

Phil Jackson comparison doesn't work. 1) it wasn't his job or ability to draft MJ and 2) he had the best player ever for like a decade in a sport where 1 player can win you rings. In college football, you get guys for a few years (need to consistently recruit at elite level) and one player doesn't make that big of a difference.

Probably not popular around here, but Saban has passed TO on all time great list. Saban is probably already #1. That's no indictment of TO, what he did was amazing and still top 10 all time.

Saban has not passed TO all time. All time pain in the neck maybe. Almost all he does is chew on folks and throw tantrums. I never saw TO do either. Saban has won a lot. But he is in a dream situation. The hosses down there are his to lose. TO flat out coached people. He won a national title when the other team (Miami) was unquestionably more stacked with talent. When has Saban won a title when the other team had more talent? Osborne just out coached them. Had his program in a better place. He out-offensed Steve Spurrier. He once had an awkward moment just to see how it feels. I think a lot of folks are just caught up in the moment.

You're just being a complete homer and have no objectivity whatsoever. Was Alabama a dream job before Saban got there? NO. Was lsu a dream job before Saban got there? NO.

Yes, I believe both of those jobs had tons of potential in terms of regional talent and fan base. Look, you can defend the guy all you want, but TO did more at NU than Saban ever could. Its easy to be a homer, when the cabinet is clear full of Outland, Lombardi, Heisman trophies, Conference plaques and Championship trophies. We are talking about one of the best ever who never did an about face and left a team High and Dry like Saban did.

No one wanted the Alabama job, even Dennis franchione turned it down. I think Saban could lead nebraska to a few national titles if he came here.

 

[jaws]

Larry Kehres is the best coach of all time. He won 11 National championships playing in a playoff system.

I can verify this but I might be a little biased. Kind of like Huskers fans are with Osborne.

I feel he did more with less so sorry but no bias here. If the roles were reversed I'd go with Saban. Bama has dominated recruiting unlike any other college team has for at least the last 5 years now. That is beyond impressive. Osborne had some good recruiting classes but nothing compared to what Alabama regularly pulls in.

I don't think I mentioned Saban in my post.

"More with less"? Part of coaching at the college level is recruiting and it is near impossible to win a national championships with average talent. Let's also not compare today's game to 20 years ago. There have been rule changes since then that have changed the game.

 

[suh_fan93]

Larry Kehres is the best coach of all time. He won 11 National championships playing in a playoff system.

I can verify this but I might be a little biased. Kind of like Huskers fans are with Osborne.

I feel he did more with less so sorry but no bias here. If the roles were reversed I'd go with Saban. Bama has dominated recruiting unlike any other college team has for at least the last 5 years now. That is beyond impressive. Osborne had some good recruiting classes but nothing compared to what Alabama regularly pulls in.

I don't think I mentioned Saban in my post.

So you often hear Husker fans calling Tom Osborne the greatest coach ever? I surely don't. The thread title is 'Tom Osborne vs Nick Saban' so not sure what you mean then by your 'Kind of like Husker fans are with Osborne' comment.

 

[TGHusker]

I say Osborne was the better coach. Don't care if anyone has a problem with it, and yes, I am a homer. What kind of nonsense is that? I'm supposed to be objective or something? If objectivity ruled college football we'd all be fans of whatever team won the championship that year. I'm a Nebraska fan, so I'm going to pick Nebraska 10/10 times.

I'd take Osborne's best team against Saban's best team any day of the week. I'd take an all-star team from Osborne vs. a Saban all-star team, too.

The Bold 1000% and I agree wt the homer part also. Take the 'all star team' - it all starts up front - I'd take NU's OL all stars and DL all stars to win a game in the trenches. I'll take our all star RBs and Tommie Frasier as QB to run the option. We might even through in a fumbleruski by Dean Steinkuler. The 95 team vs any bama team - hands down 95

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bUSzSJR3sU

 

[WhatDoIKnow]

Different eras, different college football landscapes. Tough to compare.

Saban won his first title in his 9th year as a "P5" coach. Osborne got his first in his 22nd year. Saban has 5 titles in 18 years and is going for his 6th. Osborne finished with 3 in 25 years. Not sure how you can't give the edge to Saban.

I will say that Alabama is willing to go that extra step to have a winner. How many ex-HCs do they have as "consultants"?

 

[jaws]

Larry Kehres is the best coach of all time. He won 11 National championships playing in a playoff system.

I can verify this but I might be a little biased. Kind of like Huskers fans are with Osborne.

I feel he did more with less so sorry but no bias here. If the roles were reversed I'd go with Saban. Bama has dominated recruiting unlike any other college team has for at least the last 5 years now. That is beyond impressive. Osborne had some good recruiting classes but nothing compared to what Alabama regularly pulls in.

I don't think I mentioned Saban in my post.

So you often hear Husker fans calling Tom Osborne the greatest coach ever? I surely don't. The thread title is 'Tom Osborne vs Nick Saban' so not sure what you mean then by your 'Kind of like Husker fans are with Osborne' comment.

Someone else posted about Kehres and I responded. It is really simple, I am biased towards my school's old head coach just like Nebraska fans are biased towards Osborne.

There is no undisputed "better coach" when comparing Osborne and Saban because it is just biased opinion. And yes, I have had conversations with Husker fans that think Osborne is the GOAT.

 

[TheMeanFarmer]

Larry Kehres is the best coach of all time. He won 11 National championships playing in a playoff system.

I can verify this but I might be a little biased. Kind of like Huskers fans are with Osborne.

I feel he did more with less so sorry but no bias here. If the roles were reversed I'd go with Saban. Bama has dominated recruiting unlike any other college team has for at least the last 5 years now. That is beyond impressive. Osborne had some good recruiting classes but nothing compared to what Alabama regularly pulls in.

If T.O. had coached for 5 - 8 more years then his recruiting classes would likely have looked like Sabans today. He was at the point where he could get pretty much any kid he wanted.

However, it was only a matter of time before Tenopir wore down, Darlington stopped doing his job, Eply hurt more and more kids. etc... Who know what would/could have happened.

 

[Vizsla1]

Kris Brown from 47 yards-- "plenty of leg". Man, I miss having a consistent kicking game (all around).

 

[MyBloodIsRed16]

I think people are ignoring one aspect of Saban's recruiting prowess. He recruits in sec country. Yes he gets national recruits but those are a lot easier to come by when your homegrown or "500 mile" radius kids win you a couple of national championships. Think about all the states in sec country and how many 5* athletes they produce. Now look at Nebraska and surrounding states and you would probably have to add up mutiple years to match how many 5* the south produces on a yearly basis. I don't discredit him for being a good coach because you have to win with those players. It's kinda like ND still has that mystique. Their facilities sucked for the longest time but they still got top recruits for the longest time all while not being able to win a NC since what 89?

 

[huKSer]

Where does Snyder fall?