The world of football has produced some of the biggest coaches but none of them shined as bright as Bill Belichick in the NFL and Nick Saban in NCAA football. Although a debate between the two will prevail forever, but Stephen A Smith had no hesitation in naming the Alabama legend as the superior force in play.
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In his recent edition of The Stephen A. Smith Show, the expert analyst took a clear stance when coach Shaun Bell asked him about his personal choice between Nick Saban and Bill Belichick and who would he love to play for.
“I have to tell you it would be Nick Saban,” SAS said with no hesitation. “I think Nick Saban is one of the greatest coaches we’ve ever seen in our lifetimes. His attention to detail is big time, but he has shown an ability over the years to adjust. Nick Saban has had to coach different kids over his years at Alabama. Bill Belichick had Tom Brady for 19 years.”
Smith emphasized how big of a difference-maker Tom Brady was during the Patriots’ dynasty run. Moreover, he also pointed out how different it is to coach professional athletes when compared to running a successful program with college students and sustaining it for a long period of time.
Stephen A. Smith Differentiates Between Nick Saban and Bill Belichick
Stephen A. Smith acknowledged the fact that Bill Belichick successfully built a winning culture around his professional athletes which was led by Tom Brady. While also doing it over the course of two decades. However, on the other hand, Nick Saban had to build and rebuild a winning culture in Alabama with a roster that refreshed every few years, with multiple quarterbacks and fewer players to pivot on.
“The biggest thing about it for me is that you had Tom Brady,” Smith added. “Nick Saban had a multitude of players at the quarterback position and beyond obviously because he talking about college. So he was called upon to make adjustments as things occurred and he did it and he did it at a very elite high level Nick Sabin is my choice.”
It was a clear, and a well thought out response by Stephen A, who understood the challenge it takes to create a winning culture out of fresh talents time and again. With this, he certainly thud the last nail in the Nick Saban vs Bill Belichick debate.
