Saban vs Belichick vs Carroll
- Thread starter Pitt2009
- Start date
Carroll doesn't deserve to be in the same sentence as the other two
Sure he does. One of the few coaches to win both a National Championship and Super Bowl.
Saban was a complete failure in the NFL, while Carroll has a Super Bowl and National Championship under his belt.
Nope. Nobody thinks Jimmy Johnson is the greatest ever. Great coach, hall of famer, but there's levels to this, and neither are on Saban and Belichick's level.
Here’s a question I’m pondering: is Nick Saban retiring from coaching, or is he retiring from college football? Seems like a Jay Wright-esque decision to leave based on all the changes happening with the portal/NIL. Would he be tempted to take on an NFL job if the situation is right?
Carroll is a unique case because I don’t think he’s one of the best college or NFL head coaches of all time, but his combined successes in both put him in a category of his own. I think Jimmy Johnson is a good comparison.
Obviously Belichick and Saban are the greatest NFL and college coaches, but Carroll still deserves recognition amongst them.
At 72 and having just built a mansion in Florida, I'm guessing he's done. NFL seems to be trending toward a bit of a youth movement.
Do you think Pete Carroll would win multiple Superbowls with Tom Brady as QB?
To me, it's the difference between hitting for the cycle and hitting five homes runs in a game. It's cool that Carroll won one at both levels, but that doesn't even scratch the surface in comparison to winning six Super Bowls or seven National Championships.
Absolutely, I don’t disagree. And that’s a good way to view it. I just think the fact that he was one of the few coaches to have that type of success in both college and pros is very impressive and shouldn’t be underscored.
Carroll would have had a few more National Championships had the NCAA not punished USC harsher for the Reggie Bush thing than they did for PsU covering up decades of children being raped in their facilities.
Carroll and Jimmy Johnson are great comps. Switzer as the other guy to win a college and NFL title would have to trail behind those two.
Saban and Bill are different conversations because their successes only came at one level. That said, they are on a different planet from any other coach ever IMO. Lombardi maybe.
Saban and Bill are different conversations because their successes only came at one level. That said, they are on a different planet from any other coach ever IMO. Lombardi maybe.
I agree that Carroll is third. However, I think you’re selling him short. USC was the best team of the 00s. He won 2 National Championships and was the greatest championship game performance ever away from a third. USC also plays for two more if the CFP existed. He then went to the NFL and won a Superbowl.
Yeah, but they also might not have won the two they did if it existed. There are pros and cons to having to win two games.
That’s a fair point.
I think Saban is the greatest college coach. I don't know if we will ever see this Alabama run ever again.
Belichick is probably the best to do it in the NFL. I know it was tied to Brady, but I remember so many teams he would build year to year with the salary cap era.
The thing about both, and yes it's tied to longevity, is they developed gigantic coaching trees.
Carroll is very unique. I think he is one of the very best football coaches period. Complete different style from Saban and Belichick. I get it if you measure by championships only he isn't up there with the other two. That being said his 23 year run at USC and Seattle has been pretty impressive.
I don't know the next college head coach who will make the jump to the NFL as successful at Pete did it.
Belichick is probably the best to do it in the NFL. I know it was tied to Brady, but I remember so many teams he would build year to year with the salary cap era.
The thing about both, and yes it's tied to longevity, is they developed gigantic coaching trees.
Carroll is very unique. I think he is one of the very best football coaches period. Complete different style from Saban and Belichick. I get it if you measure by championships only he isn't up there with the other two. That being said his 23 year run at USC and Seattle has been pretty impressive.
I don't know the next college head coach who will make the jump to the NFL as successful at Pete did it.
Probably not. For one, you have to win more games now to win a national championship. And then NIL/the transfer portal has spread the talent out a bit more. Obviously I'm not saying schools like Pitt are now part of the show, but the talent isn't quite as concentrated at the top as it has been.
Saban’s time with the Dolphins has to be one of the biggest “what-ifs” in NFL (and NCAA) history. It’s not like he was completely over his head; he coached under Belichick with the Browns in the 90s and his record with Miami was 15-17.
Supposedly, he wanted Drew Brees in the 2006 offseason but ownership/management overruled him due to concerns over Brees’ shoulder (was coming off major surgery). He settled for Culepper and the rest is history.
Had he got his preferred QB, that changes a LOT of NFL and college history. Perhaps he never goes back to college, but especially not to Alabama in the 2007 offseason.
Yes.
Brady went to a Tampa team that hadn't won 10 games in a decade and immediately won a Super Bowl at age 43 with almost the exact same team that won 7 games the previous year.
