Since 1998, the Southeastern Conference has become the premier conference in college football as they have produced nine national champions. The majority of games within the SEC pits two ranked teams against each other as the conference is a gauntlet and in the process it has become the envy of college football. The football traditions of some of the SEC schools along with the large football cathedrals that are stadiums make them second to none. And when coaches consistently win big games in the SEC, they are put on a pedestal and statues are built for them. But winning in the SEC comes at a steep price as there is a large amount of pressure that comes along with their seven-figure a year salary to produce wins and to get to the big bowl games as the conference has been known to swallow up some coaches whole.
Nick Saban
In 2007, Nick Saban was hired to become the head football coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide. For years the Crimson Tide have been one of the cornerstones of the Southeastern Conference, but they had fallen on tough times prior to Saban arrival. However since Saban came to Tuscoloosa, the Tide have compiled a record of 98-18 which has resulted in three national titles along with four conference titles. Since 2008, Alabama has finished no lower than 10th in the final Associated Press Poll as they have cast a large crimson shadow over the rest of the SEC which has seen some coaches at other schools within the conference pay the price.
Since Saban took over at Alabama, 11 of the other 13 schools within the Southeastern Conference have made at least one head coaching change; either by termination, forced retirement, buyout, or simply by just picking up and leaving. One more head coach bit the dust last week and he almost had company.
Mark Richt
After 15 years as the head football coach of the Georgia Bulldogs, Mark Richt was fired last week in spite of the fact that he had more wins than any other coach in the history of the program. Georgia cited the fact that Richt didn’t win enough big games which included not winning a Southeastern Conference Title since 2005 and never beating Alabama since Saban took over. LSU Tigers head football coach Les Miles wrestled with the notion that he was going to get his walking papers last month. Miles has the highest winning percentage in the history of LSU football, but he has lost his last five games against Alabama as the Tigers have not won the SEC West since 2011. And it wasn’t until last Saturday night after LSU had defeated the Texas A&M Aggies that Miles found out that he would be returning to the school for 2016. The third Saturday in October was once a marquee game on the SEC’s calendar as Alabama annually takes on the Tennessee Volunteers. But since Saban began to roll with the Tide, the Vols are winless and they are on their fourth different head coach since 2007. From 2006-2008, the Florida Gators won a pair of national titles and there appeared to be a re-opening of an age old rivalry in the SEC between the Gators and the Crimson Tide. But in 2010, Florida head football coach Urban Meyer decided to pack up and run to the Big Ten Conference where the Ohio State Buckeyes welcomed him with open arms. Meyer wasn’t the only head football coach that left the SEC for the Big Ten as James Franklin left the Vanderbilt Commodores in 2014 in favor of the Penn State Nittany Lions.
Saban and Alabama are doing what many people say can’t be done which is to dominate in a power conference during an era of college football where parity rules. But prior to coming to Alabama, Saban had developed a reputation of resurrecting college programs as he did it with the Michigan State Spartans and at LSU. And after a brief two-year stint with the Miami Dolphins in the National Football League, Saban came back to college where he has simply dominated.
With Saturday’s victory over Florida in the Southeastern Conference Title Game, the Tide are headed back to the College Football Playoff for a second consecutive year. And whereas most schools are going to multiple helmets and a different football uniform every Saturday in order to lure recruits, Alabama’s uniform remains as basic as they come to play with either white pants/white jersey, or white pants/crimson jersey with the iconic crimson helmet with a player’s individual number on the side of his helmet. Alabama consistently gets the top recruits from the Southeast region due to the fact that school has top-notch football facilities, and they know that they have a good shot to reach the National Football League under Saban as 48 players have been drafted under him since 2009.
The Southeastern Conference might be the envy of the college football, but under Saban, the Tide are at the head of the class in the top football conference in America as their success has put them on a throne while everyone else in the SEC appears to be left in the dust as they search for answers.
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