SabanNick 15 FOREVERFOOTBALLALABAMACHANGEDTHATSEASONSEPIC
Nick Saban has coached Alabama football to six national championships and eight SEC titles in 15 seasons. He is seen here at Alabama’s 2019 preseason media day at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa.
Another season, another championship for Nick Saban. The Alabama football coach celebrates after the Crimson Tide’s 52-24 victory over Ohio State in the College Football Playoff championship game to cap the 2020 season. It marked Saban’s sixth national title in 12 years.
Alabama coach Nick Saban dons the Old Leather Helmet trophy awarded to the Crimson Tide for defeating Miami in the 2021 Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta as offensive lineman Evan Neal (73) and defensive lineman Phidarian Mathis celebrate.
2 Nick Saban PUBLISHED BY PEDIMENT PUBLISHING ©Copyright 2022 The Tuscaloosa News/USA TODAY Network. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by an information storage system, without the permission of the publisher, except where permitted by law. Printed in Canada.
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On the back
MARK J. REBILAS/USA TODAY SPORTS Page 1 Nick Saban articulated his plan for Alabama football when he was introduced in January 2007: “I know there’s tremendous expectations here for what you would like to accomplish with this football program. I can tell you … I have even higher expectations for what we want to accomplish.”
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On the cover
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SPORTS The roster EDITOR u Chris Thomas DESIGNER u Ryan Ford COVER DESIGN u Ryan Ford PHOTO EDITING u Ryan Ford TUSCALOOSA NEWS SPORTS EDITOR u Tommy Deas SPECIAL THANKS u Michael Anastasi u Peter Bhatia u Beverly Burnett u Gary Cosby Jr. u Kirkland Crawford u Michael DiLullo u Maxwell Donaldson u Vince Ellis u Chris Fenison u Brett Greenberg u Megan Holt u Gene Myers u Ken Roberts u Sutton Smith u Brooke Thomas u Ellie, Jon & Luke Thomas u Max Wolborsky u Eros & Schrodinger u Canelo and Li’l Rotten
Nick Saban 15 EPIC SEASONS THAT CHANGED ALABAMA FOOTBALL FOREVER 12G.O.A.T.ToRunGloryStories Six national titles in 15 seasons don’t happen by doing it the way it’s always been done. Hire learning 28 When Rich Rod turned down the Tide, the stars aligned for Mal Moore to land his man. Bronze mettles 36 Saban or Bryant? What the numbers say about the Greatest (Coach). Of. All. Time. Seasons In TheSix-cess!Sun 44 Relive the thrills of Saban’s 15 seasons and decide once and for 98TheSimplyBestTheplayers A good coach is nothing without his players. We picked the 10 best of Saban’s tenure. The games 116 From Tua’s touch down to Tebow’s tears, the top 10 games from the past 15 seasons. The good and the bad 132 Get to know Saban’s five greatest rehab projects and his five biggest foes. 50 138LettersOfYearsLoveoflove 50 stories that tell Nick and Terry Saban’s story — from those 154MemoriamInAlegendlost lateRememberingTuscaloosa News columnist Cecil Hurt, who earned Saban’s trust. 1 2 3 4 5
4 Nick Saban
In1959-2021MemoriamCecil Hurt
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ecil Hurt, longtime sports columnist at The Tuscaloosa News, died on Nov, 23, 2021, in Birmingham from complications from pneumonia. Hurt, 62, joined The Tuscaloosa News in 1982 as a sports writer and seven years later became the newspaper’s sports editor and columnist. A 1981 graduate of the University of Alabama with a degree in English and a minor in psychology, Hurt was born in Tuscaloosa and grew up in Huntsville and graduated from Butler High School. During his career at the News, he covered Alabama football, basketball, baseball and oth er sports. He was part of The Tuscaloosa News team that won a Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the 2011 tornado that devastated Tuscaloosa and surrounding areas. He was named the National Sports Media Association’s Alabama Sportswriter of the Year in 2016 and ’19 and received the Mel Allen Media Award from the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 2019.
“The University of Alabama has that slogan, ‘Where Legends Are Made,” and whenever I see that I think, ‘The only legend I’ve known personally is Cecil Hurt.’”
— KEN ROBERTS, CITY EDITOR OF THE TUSCALOOSA NEWS
News
Late Tuscaloosa columnist Cecil Hurt and co-host Jacqueline Shealy chat about Alabama football during a live stream of “The Cecil Hurt Show” from Wilhagan’s sports bar in downtown Tuscaloosa on Aug. 29, 2011.
ROBERT SUTTON/ THE TUSCALOOSA NEWS
6 Nick Saban A smiling Nick Saban talks with SEC Network and ESPN personality Paul Finebaum at 2017 SEC Media Days at the Hyatt Regency Birmingham-The Winfrey Hotel. Alabama won the fifth of six championships during Saban’s 15year reign in the ensuing season. ADAM HAGY/USA TODAY SPORTS
remember,”“It’sembraced“Theeyedsdale,Jan.ertenurevictorieschampionshipinNickSaban’s—a45-40thrill-overClemsonon12,2016inScott-Ariz.—ableary-SabanravedaboutProcess”histeamtowinagain:oneI’llalwayshesaid.
I never thought Alabama could replace Bear Bryant. Instead, it got better.
MATT KARTOZIAN/ USA TODAY SPORTS
John Wooden won 10 titles in college basketball. Geno Auriemma has 11 in the women’s game. While the most recent title game appearance was his ninth at Alabama By Paul Finebaum
Nick Saban
Foreword
W alking out of Paul Bryant’s retirement announce ment on the morning of Dec. 15, 1982, I nearly broke down with grief and emotion. Surprisingly, it wasn’t out of sadness for Coach Bryant, a man I barely knew as a reporter for the Birmingham Post-Herald. I was feeling sorry for myself. How could this be happening to me, I wondered silently. How could life deal me such a wicked blow. I was young with my whole career ahead. And I felt that cold morning it would never be as good again. I had been covering the greatest coach in college football history in my mid-20s. Today, after watching every step of Nick Saban’s 15 re markable years at Alabama, I can only smile at the youthful ignorance of that cub reporter. At 70, an age when most coaches have long moved on, and older than Bryant at the final curtain, Saban keeps climbing college’s football’s Mount Rushmore — and the debate is no longer whether he’s the game’s greatest coach, but how does he compare to the best in any league or sport at any time?
THE POWER & THE GLORY
The day after one of the gutsiest
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8 Nick Saban in the last 13 seasons, Saban has done it so many different ways — using stingy defenses early and flipping to high-powered offense when the sport changed. While it’s easy to reflect on what he has done — perhaps, the scariest part, especially for the rest of col lege football — is what he can still accomplish.Ican’thelp at times like this to reflect back on so many memories. But one in particular that keeps coming back is how this almost didn’t happen.
I remember the news on anoth er grim December day, this one in 2006, after Rich Rodriguez, at the time at West Virginia, became the third prominent coach in a matter of days to turn down the job to replace Mike Shula. After Saban and Steve Spurrier, everyone assumed Rich Rod was the man. Fans were calling in to my show that Friday in tears, worrying and wondering if Alabama could find anyone to take the job. It seemed like Alabama had hit rock bottom. Finally, Saban reversed fields, and on Jan. 4, 2007, he was for mally introduced. While Bama fans rejoiced, there was stinging criti cism of Saban — by national media members chastising his decision to leave the Miami Dolphins and even Don Shula, the legendary Dolphins coach and Mike’s father — saying it would be a short stop because Saban couldn’t be trusted.
The critics included some in the coaching profession. Does anyone remember then-Vanderbilt coach James Franklin speaking at a high school banquet, saying: “There’s this guy at Alabama. I think his name is Nicky Satan. I think you guys have probably heard of him before. ... I’m going to outwork him, and that’s kind of our plan every singleNobodyday.’’has outworked Saban, and nobody has ever been more intim idating. Like Tiger Woods in his prime at golf, Saban often wins the game before it begins. I learned this the week after his first title at Bama: Saban was not your normal football coach. I was in Houston at the Paul Bryant Coach Saban and his 2012 national championship team visited the White House for the third time in four years on April 15, 2013, and were greeted by President Barack Obama, who began introductions with “Roll Tide!” Saban said the experience is something “you never really get used to.”
H.DARR BREISER/USA TODAY SPORTS
ranting about how going to Pasadena for a week to play Texas had cost him in recruit ing. “We’re trying to build this pro gram,” he lectured me in Houston that night, “and lost valuable time.” I was stunned but decided not to remind him he had just won the national championship — Alabama’s first in 17 years. Saban was a joyless winner in the beginning, but you could see clearly after his 2020 championship — and especially after the upset over Georgia in the SEC title game in 2021 — the smile was wide and appreciation of the accomplishment was significant. But it took Saban a long time to learn to enjoy the journey. I’ll never forget having the oppor tunity to be at the White House on a private matter in the spring of 2012 and walking down the long hallway just off the Oval Office, toward the Rose Garden. My wife and I stopped to admire the pictures on the wall. There were prime ministers and kings and a crown prince. There was the Boss of rock music and the Queen of Soul. And then, right before the doorway to the Rose Garden, posing in the photo with Barack Obama, the world’s most powerful man, was the world’s most powerful college football coach. Speed to New York later that year, and I found myself chatting at the College Football Hall of Fame dinner with the Alabama coach. Knowing small talk is not his favorite pastime, I went straight for the jugular. “I happened to be at the White House not along ago and was stroll ing around, and there you were, on the wall, with President Obama.” Alabama had been there a few weeks earlier than me while being feted for yet another national title.
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“Really?’ he said, suddenly inter ested.And, then, he did the unthinkable. HeBacksmiled.then, that was an occurrence that rivaled the rarity of Halley’s Comet. But these days, a little bit older and firmly secured in history as college football’s greatest coach, Saban can afford to smile; perhaps, even relax a little bit more. His run at Alabama is unprec edented and unapparelled. And though one expected success, even the most optimistic Alabama fan could have never predicted, nor dreamed of, what we have all expe rienced in the past 15 years. But of all the moments during this odyssey, perhaps, the most sur prising to me was recently having a conversation with Marc Bryant Tyson, the grandson of Paul Bryant. We were reminiscing about the greatness of the Bear, and I was gingerly avoiding any references to Saban as the G.O.A.T. But Tyson, whose son Paul played quarterback at Alabama under Saban, was in no mood for subtlety.
Paul Tyson, the great-grandson of Alabama coaching legend Paul W. “Bear” Bryant, was a backup quarterback on Saban’s teams from 2019-21. He made 13 appearances for the Tide, finishing 10-of-16 passing for 150 yards.
9Nick Saban of the Year banquet and walked up to him beforehand, saying: “Coach, congratulations on winning the title.’’“Idon’t know,” he said, sheepishly.
When ESPN launched the SEC Network in 2014, with Paul Finebaum as its leading personality, Saban had won three of the past five national titles and the SEC had won seven of the previous eight.
Foreword
“Nick Saban is the greatest coach in college football history,’’ said the grandson of Paul William “Bear” Bryant. “There really isn’t a debate.’’ Not Andanymore.noteveragain.
“You win, but every championship you’ve got a new set of problems andSabanissues.’’continued
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JordanquarterbackLSU Jefferson (9) Game.ChampionshipinanafterC.J.linebackertacklesMosleythrowinginterceptiontheBCS TODAYGENTRY/USAMARVINSPORTS MARVIN GENTRY/USA TODAY SPORTS
60 Nick Saban 2011 Poll positions How the Crimson Tide fared in the key polls on a week-to-week basis: DATE AP COACHES BCS Preseason 2 2 Week 2 3 2 — Week 3 2 2 Week 4 3 2 — Week 5 3 2 Week 6 2 3 — Week 7 2 3 Week 8 2 3 2 Week 9 2 2 2 Week 10 2 2 2 Week 11 4 4 3 Week 12 3 3 3 Week 13 2 2 2 Week 14 2 2 2 Week 15 2 2 2 Final 1 1 — The championship
In arguably the most dominant defensive effort of any Alabama win in the Saban era, the Crimson Tide rolled 21-0 to upend LSU in the rematch to take the BCS national title in New Orleans. LSU not only failed to score, but its offense failed to cross the 50-yard line until the game had been decided in the fourth quarter. The Tigers managed just 92 total yards, only 39 rushing, as UA’s defense notched four sacks, a fumble recovery by Nick Gentry and an interception by C.J. Mosley. It also marked a redemptive night for Alabama’s kicking game. Two UA kickers combined to miss four field goals in UA’s regular-season loss to LSU, but in the rematch Jeremy Shelley tied a bowl record with five field goals. Shelley’s kicks slowly built a 15-0 lead, and Richardson added a late exclamation point with the only touchdown of the game.
Death knell for the BCS
Alabama reaching the BCS Championship Game for a rematch with LSU without winning its division or participating in the SEC title game had a major impact on the future course of college football’s postseason. Some of the game’s powerbrokers considered Alabama’s backdoor entry to the national title stage as an indication the BCS system was broken. In large measure, it was an impetus for the College Football Playoff, and the long-anticipated new era of the CFP was ushered in just three years later. Although Alabama would go on to justify its place in the championship with a resounding victory, the die was cast for change. The best argument against Alabama’s inclusion in the title game was Oklahoma State, which was 11-1 when BCS berths were awarded. The Cowboys had a much more damaging loss than Alabama, however, having fallen to an unranked Iowa State team just two weeks earlier.
YEARSRANKTHE No. 3
61Seasons In The Sun
The crew
Alabama’s stars and their key statistics for 2012: uu QB AJ MCCARRON 211-for-314, 2,933 yards, 30 TDs, three INTs uu RB EDDIE LACY 204 carries, 1,322 yards, 17 TDs. uu RB T.J. YELDON 175 carries, 1,108 yards, 12 TDs. uu WR AMARI COOPER 59 receptions, 1,000 yards, 11 TDs. uu LB C.J. MOSLEY 107 tackles, eight TFL, four sacks, two INTs.
A labama’s national championship in 2011 was validation that Nick Saban’s program was no one-hit wonder, as it marked his second title with the Crimson Tide. But another challenge remained on the dynasty to-do list: winning championships in back-to-back seasons. The Tide did it by outscoring its opponents, 542-153. The defense had four shutouts, including 49-0 against Auburn, and led the country in scoring defense (10.9 points), total de fense (250 yards) and rushing defense (76.4 yards). The Tide’s 542 points matched a school record, with quarterback AJ McCarron leading the charge and running backs Eddie Lacy and T.J. Yeldon, a freshman, becoming the only players in Saban’s ten ure to exceed 1,000 yards rushing in the same season. Alabama had four All-Americans: center Barrett Jones, cornerback Dee Milliner, linebacker C.J. Mosley and offensive guard Chance Warmack. By Nick Kelly
2012 FINAL AP POLL RANK No. 1 OVERALL W-L (SEC W-L) 13-1 (7-1) IRON BOWL W, 49-0
Record offense. Mighty defense. Back-to-back titles. Just business as usual.
WHY: Alabama was dominant, with Texas A&M’s Johnny Manziel inflicting the only blemish. The Crimson Tide survived close games with LSU in the regular season and Georgia in an SEC Championship Game classic, then kicked Notre Dame all over the field to win the championBCSship.
62 Nick Saban 2012 The season
SEC Championship
Don’t poke the Bear It’s a message that apparently wasn’t received by one person ahead of Alabama’s showdown with No. 11 Mississippi State on Oct. 27 — a matchup of unbeaten SEC West teams. On the Thursday before the game at Bryant-Denny Stadium, a picture surfaced on social media of Alabama’s Paul W. “Bear” Bryant statue cloaked in a T-shirt that read: “WE BELIEVE 8-0 HAIL STATE” — a nod to MSU’s #WeBelieve movement that season. The culprit and the photo’s origins were never veri fied, but that didn’t stop Alabama from using it as motivation. The next morning, Alabama safety Nick Perry shared the photo on Twitter with a promise: “Total disre spect. Show no mercy!!!” The Tide didn’t, as it led 24-0 at halftime en route to the 38-7 victory. After the game, Saban didn’t mention the incident. But what he did say would have been fitting: “You can’t necessarily win the fight in the first round,” Saban said, “but you can certainly lose it.”
Alabama got a crack at both from the outset, but it was the Tide’s game against A&M on Nov. 10, after opening with nine straight wins, that strained Alabama’s repeat bid and catapulted Johnny Manziel to the top of Heisman Trophy balloting. Manziel, only a redshirt freshman, dazzled against Alabama at Bryant-Denny Stadium, passing for 253 yards and two TDs and also rushing for 92 yards as the Aggies scored the game’s first 20 points before holding on for the 29-24 victory. But all was not lost for the Tide. As Saban said postgame: “Two of the three national champi onship teams that I coached lost a game. … There’s still a lot for this team to play for.” An SEC West title was secured two weeks later in the rout over Auburn. The Tide, which had jumped back to No. 2 in the BCS standings after loss es by No. 1 Kansas State and No. 2 Oregon the previous week, left nothing to chance in delivering the second-most lopsided victory in Iron Bowl history. Having seen enough, Auburn fired Gene Chizik as coach the next day.
Conference expansion finally hit the SEC when it added Missouri (East Division) and Texas A&M (West) in 2012.
DANIEL SHIREY/USA TODAY SPORTS Amari Cooper made his mark as a freshman with a 45-yard touchdown reception over Georgia defender Damian Swann in the 2012 SEC Championship Game in Atlanta. Alabama defeated Georgia 32-28.
The stage was set for Alabama entering the SEC title game against No. 3 Georgia, with the winner all but assured to face Notre Dame for the national title. The game lived up to the hype, with the Tide holding on for a wild 32-28 victory that left the Bulldogs stranded at the Alabama 5-yard line. Geor gia quarterback Aaron Murray had completed a pass that brought the Bulldogs to the Alabama 8. Georgia opted to rush in a play with no timeouts left. Murray, with about nine seconds remaining, fired a pass toward the right sideline. C.J. Mosley, who was sprinting in, tipped the throw at the line of scrimmage, just enough to make the ball flutter as it fell into the arms of Georgia receiver Chris Conley. The timing was thrown off enough that Conley slipped to the ground for a 3-yard gain as he tried to turn toward the end zone. The clock expired. The game was over. “I’m ready to have a heart attack here,” Saban said postgame. Alabama actually trailed 21-10 late in the third quarter after Georgia returned a blocked Cade Foster field goal for a touchdown. The Tide stormed back to take a 25-21 lead after touchdown runs from Yeldon (10 yards) and Lacy (one yard). Georgia struck next with Todd Gurley’s 10-yard TD with 12:54 to play. That made it 28-25, until McCarron hit Amari Cooper, a freshman, on a 45-yard strike off play-action with 3:15 to go. The rest is history. “This conference will test your mettle,” Saban said.
The game was a dream for the college football traditionalist. Two of the nation’s most recognized blue bloods, facing off for a national title. Each had eight Associated Press national titles; no other school could claim that. And yet … winning Saban’s second SEC title at Alabama proved to be much tougher than winning his third national championship with the Tide. Ala bama bullied Notre Dame from start to finish in a 42-15 thrashing in Miami Gardens, Fla. It was 14-0 in less than nine minutes, 28-0 at half and 35-0 midway through the third quarter. McCarron went 20-for-28 for 264 yards and four TDs. Lacy rushed for 140 yards and Yeldon for 108. Cooper caught six passes for 105 yards and two TDS, and the Tide rolled to 529 total yards. Saban, a devout Catholic, swore he was “happy as hell” about the back-to-back titles, but ... “One of these days when I’m sitting by the side of the hill watching the stream go by, I’ll think about it then,” Saban said. “But for now ... what about next year’s team?”
MATTHEW EMMONS/USA TODAY
Facing Notre Dame nose guard Louis Nix while healthy was a considerable task. But facing the 6-foot-2, 331-pound space-eater with a foot injury was downright daunting — unless you’re Barrett Jones. Alabama’s center suffered a Lisfranc injury in the first quarter of the SEC Championship Game against Georgia but played through it to finish the season. “They would have had to physically drag me off the field to keep me from playing in the game,” Jones told ESPN. “And even then, I don’t know if that would have worked.” Jones took care of Nix to win his third national championship with the Crimson Tide. He was a two-time All-American and only the second player in college foot ball history to win the Outland Trophy (top interior lineman) and Rimington Trophy (top center).
Running back Eddie Lacy shredded Notre Dame for 140 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries as the Crimson Tide captured the 2012 BCS national championship with a 42-14 victory. SPORTS
How the Tide fared in its 14 games on the 2012 schedule:
Barrett Jones didn’t let injury stop him from winning another national championship at Alabama. He played through the pain against Notre Dame.
Sept. 1 Michigan* W, 41-14
DATE OPPONENT RESULT
Sept. 8 Western Kentucky W, 35-0 Sept. 15 at Arkansas W, 52-0 Sept. 22 Florida Atlantic W, 40-7
MATTHEW EMMONS/USA TODAY SPORTS
63Seasons In The Sun Calendar daze
Unstoppable Barrett
Sept. 29 Ole Miss W, 33-14 Oct. 13 at Missouri W, 42-10 Oct. 20 at Tennessee W, 44-13 Oct. 27 Mississippi St. W, 38-7 Nov. 3 at LSU W, 21-17 Nov. 10 Texas A&M L, 29-24 Nov. 17 Western Carolina W, 49-0 Nov. 24 Auburn W, 49-0 Dec. 1 Georgia** W, 32-28 Jan. 7 Notre Dame*** W, 42-14 *Arlington, Texas; **SEC Championship Game, Atlanta; ***BCS National Champion ship Game, Miami. 2012 Irish eyes a-cryin’
“I confided a lot of things in him,” Coach Saban said. “He never violated my trust. Truly loved the guy.”Something tells me Cecil would say, “That was ratNotpoison.”tospeak out of school here, in this house of worship, in Tuscaloosa of all places. But has anyone ever heard Coach Saban say anything like that before? Yet in many ways what Coach Saban did was speak for every Alabama football coach from Paul Bryant until now.
The late Rev. Billy Graham was often referred to as the Presidents’ pastor because he met with every President — Republican or Democrat — and they trusted and they confided in him.
I once joked with Cecil that he could make millions off of a book if he unfurled the dark, dirty secrets that he compiled in the last 40 years. But he just looked at me with a wrinkled nose and punishing frown as if I had just said Zac Brown was a better singer-songwriter than Jackson Browne.That’snot who he was. Material things were of no interest. Neither were compliments. So I hope he will forgive me for saying that he was the most important and influential journalist who has ever covered the University of Alabama. He was also the best. He was an institution, beloved by all, and there is simply no substitute for that. There is no easy way to say goodbye. Prose and poetry make it more palatable, but the hurt remains. The tears can’t be avoided. None of us know how long we have left. All we can do is live our life to the fullest, set an example for others, display courage and character. This is how Cecil Hurt lived. This is the legacy he leaves behind. Cecil, we will always love you. We will deeply miss you. We will forever cherish our time here with you. Farewell, my friend. Godspeed.
But of all the compliments and statements uttered in the last fortnight, the one that has resonated the most – and has been the most accurate – was that he was one of the most influ ential and powerful people in his field, yet one of the nicest. He wanted to help everyone, espe cially those younger and less fortunate.
MICHAEL PALMER/THE TUSCALOOSA NEWS SEC Network, ESPN and radio personality Paul Finebaum (left) was a longtime friend of Cecil Hurt. Finebaum delivered Hurt’s eulogy in 2021.
Oh, the rich and pow erful have spoken as well. Who else but Cecil could have statements written within an hour of his passing from the governor of Alabama, the commissioner of the Southeastern Conference and Nick Saban. Who else would be remembered on College GameDay and during the broadcast of the Iron Bowl.Who else but those self-absorbed Alabama fans, as some deity recently remarked, would stop cold on that Tuesday early evening, when the news first broke, for memories shared with Cecil.
I can see him now, peering over the top of those reading glasses, saying nothing, but really saying it all. He would think all of this unnecessary, as he would have been happier today in a coffee shop, perusing The Iliad, or The Odyssey or something lighter and more frivolous — like War and Peace. He would prefer to talk politics. Not the chatter that infiltrates cable news at night, but some thing a little simpler to consume. Like whether Pericles made the right move on fourth-andshort in the First Peloponnesian War.
AREMEMBERINGFRIEND
Somehow, I get the impression and feeling that Cecil Hurt would not be happy to look around this church right now. I think he would be displeased to have seen his countless friends and colleagues over the last two weeks moping in sadness and in sorrow. He would be embarrassed by the endless words that have been written, bestowing his greatness. He would be mortified to see a special section put out by the Tuscaloosa News.
157In Memoriam Paul Finebaum, who long before joining ESPN and the SEC Network became one of the most recognized columnists and sports radio show hosts in Alabama and throughout the South, delivered this eulogy at Cecil Hurt’s funeral at Christ Episcopal Church in Tuscaloosa on Dec. 8, 2021.
Alabama coaches, athletic directors, even school presidents, felt the same way about Cecil Hurt.
1959-2021
158 Nick Saban 1892 E. B. 2-2-0Beaumont WINNING PERCENTAGE: .500 1893-95, 1902 Eli 7-13-0Abbott WINNING PERCENTAGE: .350 1896 Otto2-1-0Wagonhurst WINNING PERCENTAGE: .667 THECALLINGSHOTS The 27 head coaches who made Alabama football great. *INTERIM HEAD COACH 1897 Allen1-0-0McCants WINNING PERCENTAGE: 1.000 1899 W. A. 3-1-0Martin WINNING PERCENTAGE: .750 1900 M. Griffin 2-3-0 WINNING PERCENTAGE: .400 1901 M. H. 2-1-2Harvey WINNING PERCENTAGE: .600 1903-04 W. B. 10-7-0Blount WINNING PERCENTAGE: .588 1905 Jack6-4-0Leavenworth WINNING PERCENTAGE: .600 1906-09 J. W. H. 21-4-5Pollard WINNING PERCENTAGE: .783 1910 Guy4-4-0Lowman WINNING PERCENTAGE: .500 Nick Saban is the latest in a long line of Alabama’s winning coaches, from Wallace Wade, who won the Tide’s first national title, on. The full list of Alabama’s head coaches: