2018 Nick Saban
Alabama Crimson Tide

It is hard to remember now, but there was a time when Alabama was actually bad at football and looking for a new direction. That new direction came in the form of a 2007 hire named Nick Saban. It was expected that Saban would have Alabama competing again in the SEC, but no one could have imagined that Saban would turn Alabama into the sport defining program that Alabama is today.

To have all that success and still be winning coach of the year honors is really quite incredible. It would be so easy to take what Saban does for granted at this point. That would mean dismissing the hours put in on the recruiting trail, the building of a coaching staff, the game planning, and the individual tweaks and changes in a game situation that makes Saban’s teams so hard to beat.

His 2018 Alabama squad is a different beast to many we have seen over the last decade. While the Crimson Tide have been their usual dominant force on defense, this vintage of the team has a quarterback in Tua Tagovailoa that has pushed the offense forward to new heights. Saban’s ability to handle the quarterback situation between Tagovailoa and incumbent starter Jalen Hurts cannot be overstated, with Hurts dropping into a reduced role but still being a key contributor to the team.

Saban may have put together his best coaching job ever in 2018 and he is a worthy recipient of the The Premier Coach of College Football award.