The greatest coach Tennessee football ever faced? Numbers say it's Saban

It’s been two weeks since Nick Saban retired as Alabama’s football coach. And since he has neither changed his mind nor taken the Vanderbilt job, I think it’s safe for Tennessee fans to finally breathe easy.

Vol football knew no greater sideline adversary than Saban.

He was a party-pooper for Tennessee in his stint at LSU and an immovable force in his 17 seasons at Alabama. When we recount UT’s greatest coaching rivals, Saban, Steve Spurrier and Bear Bryant come to mind first.

Tennessee beat Bryant 14 times between his stops at Kentucky, Texas A&M and, from 1958-82, at Alabama. The Vols topped Spurrier 10 times during his career at Duke, Florida and South Carolina.

In 20 tries, Tennessee beat Saban only twice – 21 years apart.

The first was a 26-18 win over LSU in Knoxville in the 2001 season. Of course, Saban got sweet revenge 10 weeks later.

That was in the SEC championship game. The Tigers wiped out UT’s 17-10 halftime lead and rallied behind backup quarterback Matt Mauck for a 31-20 victory. Bye-bye to both an SEC title and a berth in the Rose Bowl national championship game.

After the brief experiment with the Miami Dolphins, Saban landed at Alabama for the 2007 season. Tennessee should have known hard times were ahead from the opening kickoff.

Literally. Alabama began the 2007 game by recovering an onsides kickoff and never looked back in a 41-17 romp. Welcome to the Saban Alabama Era.

Phillip Fulmer was fired two weeks after a second loss to Saban in 2008. Tennessee’s losing streak against the Tide grew − through five UT coaches − to 15 games by 2021.

Only twice did the Vols even come close, in 2009 under Lane Kiffin, and 2015 under Butch Jones.

That fifth coach, Josh Heupel, finally broke the spell in 2022, a 52-49 win for the ages. Saban’s last season was back to status quo, cigars lit in the Crimson Tide locker room after a 34-20 win.

Bottom line: 2-18.

(Side note: The Vols never beat Urban Meyer in six tries, but he didn’t have Saban’s staying power for profound influence on the conference.)

In mulling Saban’s legacy, I revisited a couple of pieces I wrote about him a while back.

Here’s an excerpt from SEC Media Days in 2016:

“The media for years did a laughable job of predicting who would win the SEC title. What a bunch of dopes.

“If we picked Georgia, it was Auburn. If we picked Auburn, it was LSU. If we picked Tennessee, it was Florida. If we picked Florida, it was Georgia.

“We’ve gotten smarter since Saban showed up. Pick Alabama. Duh.’’

The second examined Saban’s coaching tree. Tennessee’s entanglement has been complicated, to say the least.

Tennessee had to face former Saban assistants on Saturdays, from Jim McElwain, Will Muschamp, Jimbo Fisher to Billy Napier. And, most notably, Kirby Smart at Georgia.

Then there was the quest to hire the right Saban protege.

Bottom line: 0-2.

In 2010, Derek Dooley’s most attractive quality wasn’t his parentage but his seven years working for Saban.

When the 2017 season imploded, Fulmer, as athletic director, chose Jeremy Pruitt, who had spent most of the previous decade on Saban’s staff. Another implosion followed.

Finally, Saban’s Alabama dynasty has offered safe port for ex-Tennessee coaches. Vol fans have had to swallow the sight of Lane Kiffin, then Butch Jones and, in 2023, Dooley, basking in a victory over their former employer.

And now we move on.

Saban deserves a happy retirement. Tennessee deserves smoother sailing in a post-Saban world.

Mike Strange is a former writer for the News Sentinel. He currently writes a weekly sports column for Shopper News.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Was Nick Saban the greatest coach Tennessee football ever faced?