Rece Davis details why LSU stint helps cement Nick Saban's status as greatest of all-time

What Nick Saban did while in Tuscaloosa cemented him as the greatest to ever do it in college football. However, according to Rece Davis, it’s what he accomplished while in Baton Rouge that adds a new layer and level to his argument as the best of all-time.

Davis spoke on SportsCenter about Saban’s retirement and looked at his overall career in the sport. While we will always remember him for his 17 years at Alabama, it’s what he did over his five other seasons in the Southeastern Conference at LSU in the early 2000s that boost him to his status as the G.O.A.T..

“I want to point this out about his time at LSU, Kevin, which is one of the reasons that I believe him to be the greatest ever,” said Davis. “For half a century or more, LSU was the sleeping giant, the coaching graveyard. They should be great but they aren’t – and he fixed it. He fixed LSU to such a degree that they’ve been able to carry it into subsequent tenures where two other coaches have won national championships there.”

In 64 games with the Tigers, Saban went 48-16 (0.750) with eight-plus wins in every seasons. That included two eight-win finishes, a nine-win year in his final one, and a 10-3 record. It also had a 13-1 mark in the season that they won their first national championship since 1958.

Still, as Davis pointed out, it’s the cementing that Saban did in Death Valley that makes it even more impressive.

Once a coach of his caliber leaves a given school, one would expect a complete fall out or, at the very least, a drop off. LSU has done anything but that, though. Since Les Miles took over for him in 2005, the Tigers have had only two seasons under .500 or worse. Those were the final two years of Ed Orgeron in 2020 and 2021. Remove those finishes and the program is 174-50 (0.776) under Miles, Orgeron, and, most recently, Brian Kelly.

Over that near two-decade span, LSU won double-digit games in 11 seasons. It also featured two of their five national titles. They earned one under Miles in 2007 and had the 15-0, undefeated record for Orgeron in 2019.

You could pick just about any entry on Saban’s resumé and it’s a justification for him as the best ever. Still, for all he did while in Tuscaloosa, it’s his work at LSU and his 11 other seasons on the sideline that build up the legend that is Nick Saban.

“There is plenty in his Alabama legacy to make him the greatest of all-time,” said Davis. “When you factor in what he did at LSU? And, really, the rebuild at Michigan State too? In addition to his defensive acumen? It’s a pretty short list for those who might have any argument to the contrary.”