He won four divisional titles, including three straight titles, and won 11 games in four straight years (1997-2000) while finishing in the top 10 of the polls each time. He took over the worst program in college football in 1989 and led the Wildcats to nine wins or more in eight straight seasons, a remarkable feat that no one in Manhattan, Kansas expected. Snyder’s initial rebuild at Kansas State cannot be overstated. He led K-State to three top-20 finishes in his final 10 seasons, and of course continued to be the ultimate analog coach in the digital era by sending hand-written letters to recruits and coaches. Considering the circumstances, he was just as good the second time around the block as he was the first time. Snyder coached Kansas State for 10 years in his second stint leading the program and won a Big 12 championship. Making this list more notable is the era in which we are about to embark with three notable coaches entering their 70s in the 2021 season: Saban, North Carolina’s Mack Brown and FIU’s Butch Davis.īill Snyder retired and was called back into action in his 70s at Kansas State, where he lifted the Wildcats out of the Big 12 cellar for a second time. Saban believes (and rightly so) his age has been used against him in recruiting, making players question whether he will stick around to lead them through their entire four-year college careers.īut now that we know Saban will stick around, will we continue to see the otherworldly success when he is 75 or even 77? He certainly seems to be the exception to every rule, even as others have failed under the same circumstances, but it’s smart to study others and learn from their success and failures.Īs Saban enters a rare group of coaches to stick around beyond the age of 70, let’s take a look back at the coaches who stuck around the game well into their 70s, and how they performed in the latter years of their careers. It’s unfair and definitely not right, but ageism is definitely an issue in college football. The question is whether Saban will be as tremendous in 2027 as he was in 2020, when the Tide recorded their fifth undefeated regular season under the coach and bludgeoned opponents for the program’s 18th national title. He has not only won the most national championships in college football history, but he has at least eight more years to move the sticks beyond what will be attainable. Saban’s longevity, particularly in the SEC, is not only impressive, it’s impossible to fathom being repeated.
Saban (and Swinney) may very well be the last to not only consistently win national championships, but do so at one spot for most of their career. We may never see careers like Joe Paterno or Bobby Bowden again. Longevity, particularly at one school, is not only rare but it might soon be a forgotten practice, even for the coaches who are great-but-not-yet-elite. Gone are the days of five-year contracts being honored no matter the circumstances. Programs fire their coaches after one or two seasons.
Coaching tenures are shorter than ever across the country. Saban at the age of 69 has not only become the greatest coach of all time with seven national titles, including six at Alabama in 14 years, but his track record might be unreachable, particularly after signing a deal this week that will keep him in Tuscaloosa through 2028. They are the new trendsetters, the men who somehow mastered the impossible and have become the designers of their own domain. They have rewritten the rules and are now the rule-makers. That’s why a coach like Nick Saban – or Dabo Swinney at Clemson – can be viewed almost as a demigod in the sports world.
To be a great coach is rare, and to stick around is even more unlikely. Among the thousands of men and women climbing the mountain to lead their own program, only a few will ever be considered good. It’s why the head coaches who are successful are paid so well, and why those who manage to stick around are revered and applauded. The pressure is immense, the demands are on the rise and time is precious. Life is difficult as a college football coach.
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