Alabama Football: Ranking 5 national title teams of Nick Saban era

The Alabama football program has had some amazing championship teams over Nick Saban’s tenure. How do the teams rank against each other?

Nick Saban’s tenure with Alabama football has been absolutely historic. With five rings already, the odds of more on the way is high. Between the coaches developing talent and the ability to recruit 5-stars, Alabama always seems to be one of the best teams in the country.

Over the Saban tenure, Alabama has managed to win five championships. As you look at all of those teams, they have some key differences. The 2011 team had to rely on a heavy defense. In 2015, the running game reigned supreme. In 2017, it even took a backup quarterback to save the day.

Each season tells a story, and Alabama has five happy endings to date in the Nick Saban era. Every time you bring up a championship year, fans can recall the key players and games in that season. They’ll tell you about Greg McElroy’s key first down run against Florida in the SEC Championship game, or A.J. McCarron leading a comeback against LSU on the road, or Tua and 2nd and 26. No matter what the story is, Tide fans remember fondly.

It’s so hard to compare different teams against each other. It’s like each of them are their own child, and you can’t pick one over the other. They each had their own great players, moments, and highlights. Some years overlap with players winning multiple titles.

That being said, how do these championship teams rank against each other? All teams are elite, but which is the best Alabama football team to win a title? In this article, I break down each of the five seasons where the Tide won a ring.