Sport: Nick Saban's record vs. former assistants: How Alabama coach has dominated Lane Kiffin, Jimbo Fisher and more

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In his second season as head coach at Ole Miss, Lane Kiffin has the Rebels ranked No. 8 in the nation with a 9-2 record. He’s got his program running laps around most of the SEC and has a good shot at leading them to a New Years Day bowl game. Oh and he’s got Read more The post College football world talking about Lane Kiffin’s job prospects appeared first on The Comeback.

This story has been updated from a previous version.

Nick Saban has achieved just about everything there is to achieve as a college football coach.

Seven national championships, 10 conference championships (one MAC, nine SEC), an .884 career winning percentage, 12-time national coach of the year honors and a host of player-related trivia that would make the entire College Football Hall of Fame envious.

But one stat in particular comes up more often than perhaps anything else Saban has accomplished: his record against former assistant coaches.

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It's a record that spans 12 seasons and has made victims of nine former assistants who went on to become head coaches at separate 10 teams. And Saban has beaten every single one of them — but one.

To be sure, it's not exactly a secret as to how Saban has achieved the feat. Just ask Ole Miss coach and Alabama offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin, who has lost to Saban twice since leaving Tuscaloosa:

"He's undefeated vs. almost everybody," Kiffin said before Ole Miss' 2021 game at Alabama (via the Clarion Ledger). "There's a reason he's the best in the history of college football. Even when people know how his place works, he's still undefeated, which is amazing."

Kiffin certainly isn't wrong in his summation of Saban's record against former assistants — especially when you contextualize that string of victories. With that, Sporting News takes a look at his record vs. assistants, including all-time record, margin of victory, series histories and more:

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What is Nick Saban's record vs. former assistants?

Saban boasts a 25-1 record against his former assistants, a streak that started against Tennessee coach Derek Dooley in 2010.

That victory officially ended on Oct. 9, 2021 when Jimbo Fisher's unranked Aggies upset No. 1 Alabama in College Station, 41-38. It also broke Alabama's streak of 100 straight wins vs. unranked opponents.

Saban still has a chance to improve his record in the foreseeable future with Kiffin (Ole Miss) and Fisher coaching against Saban in the SEC West division. There's also the possibility he could meet Kirby Smart (Georgia) in either the regular season or SEC championship game.

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What former assistants have coached against Saban?

To date, nine of Saban's former assistants have coached against him: Dooley, Kiffin, Fisher, Smart, Mark Dantonio, Jeremy Pruitt, Will Muschamp, Jim McElwain and Billy Napier. He has beaten Fisher the most, four times, coaching against him every year since 2017. He has a 3-0 record against five assistants; a 2-0 record against Kiffin and Dantonio; and a 1-0 record against Napier.

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Below is where each of Saban's previous assistants served under him ...

• Mark Dantonio: Defensive backs (Michigan State,1995-00)
• Jimbo Fisher: Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks (LSU, 2000-04)
• Derek Dooley: Tight ends (LSU, 2000-02); associate head coach/running backs (LSU, 2003-04); tight ends (Miami Dolphins, 2005-06)
• Will Muschamp: Linebackers (LSU, 2001); defensive coordinator (LSU, 2002-04); associate head coach (Miami Dolphins, 2005)
• Kirby Smart: Defensive backs (LSU, 2004); safeties (Miami Dolphins, 2006); associate head coach/defensive backs (Alabama, 2007); defensive coordinator (Alabama, 2008-15)
• Jeremy Pruitt: Director of player development (Alabama, 2007-09); defensive backs (Alabama, 2010-12); defensive coordinator/linebackers (Alabama, 2016-17)
• Jim McElwain: Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks (Alabama, 2008-11)
• Billy Napier: Analyst (Alabama, 2011); wide receivers (Alabama, 2013-16)
• Lane Kiffin: Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks (Alabama, 2014-16)

... And his record against each of them (plus where they coached against him):

Coach	Team(s)	Record vs. Saban
Mark Dantonio	Michigan State	0-2
Jimbo Fisher	Florida State (0-1), Texas A&M (1-3)	1-4
Derek Dooley	Tennessee	0-3
Will Muschamp	Florida (0-2), South Carolina (0-1)	0-3
Kirby Smart	Georgia	0-4
Jeremy Pruitt	Tennessee	0-3
Jim McElwain	Colorado State (0-1), Florida (0-2)	0-3
Billy Napier	Louisiana	0-1
Lane Kiffin	Ole Miss	0-2

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Nick Saban's margin of victory vs. former assistants

Saban boasts an average margin of victory of 23.8 points per game against his former assistants — a 1,11-483 point advantage across 26 previous matchups.

Saban has scored the most points against Fisher (206), and surrendered the fewest to Dantonio (seven). He has the highest average margin of victory against Napier (42 points per game) and the greatest point differential against Dooley (93 points):

Coach	Point differential	Margin of victory
Mark Dantonio	87-7 (plus-80)	40 points per game
Jimbo Fisher	206-127 (plus-79)	15.8 points per game
Derek Dooley	122-29 (plus-93)	31 points per game
Will Muschamp	127-54 (plus-73)	24.3 points per game
Kirby Smart	143-99 (plus-44)	11 points per game
Jeremy Pruitt	141-51 (plus-90)	30 points per game
Jim McElwain	114-37 (plus-77)	25.6 points per game
Billy Napier	56-14 (plus-42)	42 points per game
Lane Kiffin	105-69 (plus-36)	18 points per game

Which assistant has come closest to beating Nick Saban?

Fisher, considering he's the only one to get a win against his former coach. It was his first time in five tries and the first in four tries as coach of Texas A&M.

Honorable mention goes to Kiffin, who gave Saban all he could handle in a 63-48 loss in Oxford, Miss. in 2020. Special consideration should also be given to McElwain, who coached his Gators to a 29-15 loss in the 2015 SEC championship game.

Michigan State's Mel Tucker reportedly drew interest from NFL teams

Tucker is just 17-14 overall as a head coach, but he’s already making Nick Saban money. There’s no way any NFL team would have made him an offer that was close to that. He may have used the supposed NFL interest as further leverage in contract negotiations, but signing the deal with Michigan State was a no-brainer.Subscribe to Yardbarker's Morning Bark, the most comprehensive newsletter in sports. Customize your email to get the latest news on your favorite sports, teams and schools. Emailed daily.

Smart has also nearly defeated Saban, taking him to the brink in the 2018 College Football Playoff championship game. Georgia jumped out to a 13-0 halftime lead, then a 20-7 third-quarter lead, before ultimately losing 26-23 in overtime. The Bulldogs lost a similarly close game later that calendar year in the SEC championship game, taking a 21-7 lead in the second quarter — then a 28-14 lead in the third quarter — before falling 35-28.

In 2020, Georgia took a 24-17 lead over Alabama in Tuscaloosa that diminished to 24-20 at halftime. The Bulldogs maintained that lead until the 4-minute mark of the third quarter, when Mac Jones threw a 90-yard touchdown to Jaylen Waddle to permanently put Alabama ahead in the 41-27 win. Smart has also limited Saban to the lowest margin of victory: nine points per game. They also took a 10-0 lead in the 2021 SEC championship game before ultimately losing 41-24

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Nick Saban history vs. former assistants

Saban vs. Derek Dooley

• Oct. 23, 2010: No. 7 Alabama 41, Tennessee 10
• Oct. 22, 2011: No. 2 Alabama 37, Tennessee 6
• Oct. 20, 2012: No. 1 Alabama 44, Tennessee 13

Saban vs. Jim McElwain

• Sept. 21, 2013: No. 1 Alabama 31, Colorado State 6
• Dec. 5, 2015: No. 2 Alabama 29, No. 18 Florida 15 (SEC championship)
• Dec. 3, 2016: No. 1 Alabama 54, No. 15 Florida 16 (SEC championship)

Saban vs. Mark Dantonio

• Jan. 1, 2011: No. 15 Alabama 49, No. 7 Michigan State 7 (2011 Capital One Bowl)
• Dec. 31, 2015: No. 2 Alabama 38, No. 3 Michigan State 0 (2015 Cotton Bowl semifinal)

Saban vs. Will Muschamp

• Oct. 1, 2011: No. 3 Alabama 38, No. 12 Florida 10
• Sept. 20, 2014: No. 3 Alabama 42, Florida 21
• Sept. 14, 2019: No. 2 Alabama 47, South Carolina 23

Saban vs. Jimbo Fisher

• Sept. 2, 2017: No. 1 Alabama 24, No. 3 Florida State 7
• Sept. 22, 2018: No. 1 Alabama 45, No. 22 Texas A&M 23
• Oct. 12, 2019: No. 1 Alabama 47, No. 24 Texas A&M 28
• Oct. 3, 2020: No. 2 Alabama 52, No. 13 Texas A&M 24
• Oct. 9, 2021: Texas A&M 41, No. 1 Alabama 38

Saban vs. Kirby Smart

Jan. 8, 2018: No. 4 Alabama 26, No. 3 Georgia 23 (overtime) (College Football Playoff championship)

Dec. 1, 2018: No. 1 Alabama 35, No. 4 Georgia 28 (SEC championship)

Oct. 17, 2020: No. 2 Alabama 41, No. 3 Georgia 24

Dec. 4, 2021: No. 3 Alabama 41, No. 1 Georgia 24

Saban vs. Jeremy Pruitt

Oct. 20, 2018: No. 1 Alabama 58, Tennessee 21

Oct. 19, 2019: No. 1 Alabama 35, Tennessee 13

Oct. 24, 2020: No. 1 Alabama 48, Tennessee 17

Saban vs. Billy Napier

Sept. 29, 2018: No. 1 Alabama 56, Louisiana 14

Saban vs. Lane Kiffin

Oct. 10, 2020: No. 1 Alabama 63, Ole Miss 48

Oct. 2, 2021: No. 1 Alabama 42, No. 12 Ole Miss 21