The ESPN coaching jobs showdown series kicked off with two rivals from bordering states in the same league. Up next: Two national powers from different regions and conferences that command more attention than any pair in the sport.
Alabama and Ohio State completed the 2020 season by playing for a national title on Jan. 11. The Tide prevailed, earning their sixth national championship under coach Nick Saban. The teams had never met on the sport’s biggest stage before. Few programs can match the history, coaching lineage, program support and fan bases of the Crimson Tide and the Buckeyes.
So which program has the better coaching job?
Of all the coaching job showdowns this summer (there will be more), Alabama vs. Ohio State might be the toughest to decide. Saban’s reign in Tuscaloosa will most likely never be matched, and his impact on the program and university will remain long after he steps aside. Alabama was really bad before he arrived. Ohio State, meanwhile, hasn’t won nearly as many national titles but has been one of the most consistently successful teams in American sports (more on this later).
Coaching jobs are evaluated in four areas: history (both recent and long term); resources and administrative support; recruiting location and access to talent; and expectations and climate around the program. In addition to my own research, I spoke to coaches and other sources familiar with each program to gain a better understanding from the inside.
So, #RollTide or #GoBucks? Let’s find out.
History
Past 10 years: Alabama 127-12; Ohio State 112-18
Alabama’s success under Saban the past decade is staggering. The Tide has won five national titles during the span (two BCS, three CFP), as well as six SEC championships and eight SEC West Division championships. The team leads the FBS in winning percentage (.914) while recording eight AP top-four finishes and no finish lower than No. 8 in 2019. Alabama has outscored opponents 5,563-2,052 during the span, while finishing plus-90 in turnover margin. The Tide has not lost more than two games in a single season and reached the BCS title game or the CFP in eight of the 10 seasons.
Despite a rough start to the decade — coach Jim Tressel’s resignation, followed by the team’s first seven-loss season since 1897 — Ohio State ranks third nationally in winning percentage, trailing only Alabama and Clemson (.871). The Buckeyes have bullied the Big Ten, winning the league five times out of nine eligible seasons (the team was on probation in 2012 but still went undefeated). They have won nine consecutive division championships and made four CFP appearances, winning a title in the inaugural year of 2014.
Alabama and Ohio State both participate in what many consider to be the sport’s top two rivalries, and both have held the advantage. The Crimson Tide is 7-3 against Auburn in the Iron Bowl since 2011. Ohio State has won eight straight over Michigan since 2011, which marked the Buckeyes’ only loss in The Game since the 2003 season.
Past 50 years: Alabama 489-138-3; Ohio State 481-127-8
The Saban skew isn’t quite as noticeable here, but still helps Alabama edge Ohio State in total wins (489-481) and most 10-win seasons (31-26), both tops among FBS programs since 1971 (Ohio State is second in wins and third in 10-win seasons). Ohio State leads Alabama and the FBS in total winning percentage (.787 vs. .779 for Alabama), and its numbers against pre-Saban Alabama are more impressive. The Buckeyes won or shared 16 Big Ten championships between 1972 and 2006, the year before Saban took over at Alabama. During the same span, the Crimson Tide won 12 SEC titles and just two between 1989 and 2006. Alabama’s big advantage — throughout the 50 years, but even in the pre-Saban era — is national titles. The Tide won or shared national titles in 1973, 1978, 1979 and 1992, while Ohio State has only one title (2002) during the same period.
“Alabama, there’s more of a windfall when they’re hot,” an industry source said.
Alabama’s low points are more glaring, though. The Tide endured three losing seasons between 1997 and 2003. They went 77-61 from 1997 to 2007, recording three 10-win seasons and no other season with more than seven victories. Ohio State, meanwhile, is a model of consistency, unmatched in college football and throughout much of American sports. The Buckeyes have had only one losing regular season (1988) since 1971. They have lost more than four games just four times during that span. Their only extended “down” periods occurred from 1987 to 1992 (41-25-4) and from 1999 to 2001 (21-15). Ohio State absolutely should have won more national titles — especially during coach Urban Meyer’s tenure (83-9 overall, 54-4 Big Ten) — but the team is almost never bad and never struggles for any significant period.
“Alabama’s highs might be a little higher, but their lows are much lower,” an industry source said. “I would rather have the Ohio State job, because the competitiveness of the conference, and certainly your lows won’t just be as low.”
Edge: Alabama
Resources / administrative support
Football is king at both schools, receiving the royal treatment from administrators on campus. Both programs have excellent football operations facilities and play in massive home stadiums. Both also pay their football coaches well — Ohio State has stepped up significantly with assistant coach pay since the Jim Tressel era. Alabama and Ohio State don’t scrimp in any of the areas required to compete for championships. Gene Smith is a nationally respected, football-focused athletic director who has led Ohio State’s department since 2005, and recently agreed to a four-year contract extension that will run through the 2025 season. The football program has added significantly to support areas in the past decade.
“Ohio State was significantly behind, but when Urban Meyer went there, the recruiting changed, the staff structure changed, the investment in football [changed],” said a Power 5 coach who has spent time in both the Big Ten and SEC. “Ohio State, they’ve always had a huge football emphasis, but it took off to an SEC level when Urban got there.”
Alabama AD Greg Byrne has only been in Tuscaloosa since 2017, but grew up in college athletics — his father, Bill, is the former AD at Oregon, Nebraska and Texas A&M. Greg Byrne is leading his third Power 5 department (Mississippi State, Arizona).
“Ohio State, they’ve always had a huge football emphasis, but it took off to an SEC level when Urban got there.”
Anonymous Power 5 coach
A key difference: Ohio State offers 36 varsity sports, while Alabama has only 21. Although Ohio State generates more total revenue, Alabama places a premium on football staffing and other areas of Saban’s organization. Saban’s off-field staff carries an almost mythic quality, given its size and the big names he has brought in over the years. While Ohio State has analysts and a sizable support staff for head coach Ryan Day and his 10 full-time assistants, Alabama’s staff composition stands out, even in the SEC.
“Alabama will be more aggressive in financial support, and it goes beyond the 10 assistants,” an industry source said. “It’s things that go outside the professional salaries. Alabama is ticking off way more boxes. That’s just a philosophical difference.”
The question is whether Saban’s successor will have the same resource base at his disposal, especially if the program takes a dip that most expect. Alabama has displayed a singular commitment to football that might be unmatched in the sport, but it has also done so for the sport’s most successful coach.
“It won’t be the same, I promise you,” a Power 5 head coach said. “They’ll try. They’re going to do everything they can to make sure whoever follows him is successful, but my prediction, no, it won’t be.”
Edge: Ohio State
Recruiting / access to talent
Ohio is the football hub of the Midwest and boasts eight FBS teams, the second-most nationally of any state behind Texas (12). But Ohio State is the state’s only Power 5 team and has the most appeal for recruits. Although most of the Big Ten recruits the state extensively, Ohio State always will have a leg up for top talent. Of the eight ESPN 300 prospects from Ohio in the 2021 class, the five highest-ranked players signed with Ohio State, including No. 1 overall recruit Jack Sawyer from Pickerington, Ohio.
The problem is eight out of 300 doesn’t move the needle as much as it should. The state of Alabama actually had nine ESPN 300 prospects for the 2021 class, three of whom signed with the Crimson Tide. Alabama also is located closer to talent hotbeds such as Texas (48 players in the ESPN 300 for 2021), Florida (46 players) and Georgia (28).
“There are more players in Ohio but I don’t think those players are Alabama or Ohio State caliber,” said a coach who has spent time in both the Big Ten and SEC. “I don’t know how many pure top Division I athletes are in Ohio now. There’s a bigger amount of that caliber in Alabama, even if half go to Auburn.”
Ohio State has shown it can recruit Texas, Florida, Georgia and other top talent-producing states outside of its region. The Buckeyes’ 17 ESPN 300 signees for 2021 are from 11 different states. Ohio State already has a commitment from quarterback Quinn Ewers, ESPN’s top-rated 2022 recruit, who hails from Southlake, Texas. Of the team’s nine ESPN 300 commitments for 2022, only five are from Ohio.
Not surprisingly, Alabama’s recruiting is a bit more regionalized. While the Tide has left the South for players such as projected starting quarterback Bryce Young (Pasadena, California), only three of the 22 ESPN 300 players they signed in 2021 came from states other than Florida, Texas, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana or Mississippi.
“Ohio State’s national brand extends from coast to coast,” an industry source said. “Recruiting in general, it’s probably a dead heat, but Ohio State has a number of inherent advantages.”
Edge: Alabama
Expectations / program climate
Alabama and Ohio State aren’t the only college programs with strong, loyal fan bases and unwavering expectations. But no two programs carry greater day-to-day relevance. Crimson Tide football is all-encompassing for fans both in the state and beyond, and the program’s recent success under Saban has only intensified the fervor and grown the base. Ohio State has almost 500,000 living alumni and fans who span the country. From the Block O to the Scarlet and Gray, Ohio State is one of the most recognizable brands in American sports.
“Ohio State is like the New York Yankees,” an industry source said. “Alabama is not the same.”
While both fan bases demand a lot, Alabama’s expectations for championships could be seen as a drawback, especially for the coaches who follow Saban. Ohio State fans will turn on coaches, too, but mainly if they start struggling in the Big Ten and against Michigan (see: John Cooper). Saban has created a national-title-or-bust mentality in Tuscaloosa that doesn’t truly exist in the same way in Columbus. It’s interesting to think how Meyer’s Ohio State tenure — dominant against the league and the archrival, but only one national title — would have been viewed in T-Town.
“Fan bases, they’re all fickle, but I do think there’s less patience down there,” a Power 5 head coach said. “At Ohio State, they’re going to be a little more patient. That’s my perception. There’s no pro team in Alabama. There’s multiple ones in Ohio, and multiple sports. You’ve got [Alabama] football.
“It is the obsession.”
Several people cited a more navigable path for Ohio State in the Big Ten than the SEC, where Alabama faces more programs with similar financial and administrative commitments to winning.
“The consistent level of high competition is not there for Ohio State,” a coach said.
“Easier path to 10-win seasons at Ohio State, similar or better salary ceiling, a diehard fan base and a rival [Michigan] that you can continue to kick,” a Power 5 administrator said. “Not to mention, you aren’t following Saban, which is impossible.”
Edge: Ohio State
Conclusion
Before Saban arrived at Alabama, Ohio State would be a fairly easy pick as the better job. Alabama had history at the national level, but its glory days were fading fast. Ohio State, meanwhile, showed greater stability, leading to Big Ten dominance and repeated high-level bowl appearances.
Saban has shifted the paradigm in Tuscaloosa, especially since his first national title at Alabama in 2009.
“It’s Alabama. It’s Nick Saban,” an SEC assistant said. “Other guys have had the same stuff and it hasn’t been the same.”
The biggest factor in this comparison is examining what the Alabama job will be like when Saban exits, which might not be for a while despite him turning 70 on Halloween. A coach familiar with Alabama thinks the program will become more like Oklahoma — a consistent top-10 finisher that competes for national titles but likely doesn’t win them nearly as often.
“They’re still going to have the support and the punch of being Alabama, but they’re going to be a little more up and down,” the coach said. “Oklahoma has been a consistent program but they’ve come up short. That’s what Alabama will turn into.”
Ohio State has made consecutive CFP appearances for the first time under Day, who continues to elevate the quarterback position at a program that rarely produced high-level pro prospects before his arrival. The clear next step is more national championships, as Ohio State should have way more than two since 1970.
“Ohio State’s obviously the class of the Big Ten,” a Big Ten coach said, “but right now, Alabama’s ahead of everybody.”
Better job: Alabama