Alabama's dominance under Nick Saban sets tough pace in SEC

Tennessee football coach Butch Jones meets with Alabama's Nick Saban before last year's game in Knoxville, which Saban's Crimson Tide won 49-10. Jones had won 18 of 24 games overall before last year's meeting with the Tide but is just 7-6 since.
Tennessee football coach Butch Jones meets with Alabama's Nick Saban before last year's game in Knoxville, which Saban's Crimson Tide won 49-10. Jones had won 18 of 24 games overall before last year's meeting with the Tide but is just 7-6 since.

There have been 24 coaching changes in Southeastern Conference football since Nick Saban took over at Alabama in January 2007.

Many have been the result of an inability to defeat Saban's Crimson Tide, with that factoring at least to some degree in the departures of Tennessee's Phillip Fulmer, LSU's Les Miles and even Georgia's Mark Richt, who did not have to face Alabama on an annual basis. Two current fifth-year coaches in the SEC, Bret Bielema of Arkansas and Butch Jones of Tennessee, have had their rebuilding efforts stall in recent weeks, with Bielema's Razorbacks losing 41-9 to the Crimson Tide last Saturday night at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

Tennessee will visit Tuscaloosa this weekend having not scored a touchdown in 10 straight quarters, the longest such streak this season in the Football Bowl Subdivision.

"A lot of this stuff gets overblown," Saban said. "Just talking about our opponent this week, these guys do a good job, and they're good coaches. They could be 5-1 were it not for two last plays of the game. I think the media and fans can get overzealous with the criticism sometimes, which can be a negative that you can't let affect your program.

"These guys have competed in games, and I have a lot of respect for that."

Competing in games is one thing. Measuring up to Alabama is a different beast.

Arkansas lost 52-0 to the Crimson Tide in 2012, the year before Bielema arrived, and lost to them by the same score in Bielema's first season. The Razorbacks then played Alabama competitively for three straight seasons - including losing just 14-13 in Fayetteville in 2014 - before last week's outcome reflected their overall backtrack since last November.

The Razorbacks went 3-9 in Bielema's debut season but were 7-6 in 2014 and 8-5 two years ago. They were 7-4 entering last year's regular-season finale at Missouri but blew a huge halftime lead and did the same thing against Virginia Tech in the Belk Bowl.

This year they are 2-4 overall and 0-3 in SEC play.

"There are a lot of different factors that roll into this," Bielema said. "I knew we had our work in front of us, because there was obviously a lot of drama around here when Coach (Bobby) Petrino left to John L. (Smith), and then I come in. We lost a couple of leads last year that turned this into a harder job, and in today's world, everybody wants to be negative.

"They don't want to be positive, and that affects everything, from the way your players feel to what they hear. It affects recruiting, but I'm still excited. The job is enjoyable. I've just got to win games."

Tennessee is 3-3 overall and also 0-3 in the SEC this season. The Volunteers lost a seventh consecutive game to Alabama and a fourth straight by more than 30 points in their first season under Jones, but two years ago they lost just 19-14 to Alabama in Tuscaloosa.

Jones was on an 18-6 run entering last season's game against Alabama at Neyland Stadium, a surge that included bowl-game routs of Iowa and Northwestern, two wins over Georgia and a streak-ending triumph over Florida. The Vols were routed 49-10, however, and they are just 7-6 overall since taking the field in last year's matchup with Alabama.

"Any coach who comes into any program in the Southeastern Conference is looking at building a program in the toughest, deepest, most competitive conference in college football," Jones said. "Everybody is working every day to be the best. There is a competitive nature in this league from a recruiting standpoint to money and budgets and investments in their football programs. There is a lot that goes into winning consistently, and everybody is working toward the same thing.

"Being 3-3 is not what we expect. It's not the expectations here at Tennessee. We have to keep grinding. We're as disappointed as anyone at where we're at, but we can't change that. All we can do is work to win every single day."

Saban arrived in an SEC that was loaded with proven and successful coaches - Fulmer, Miles, Richt, Steve Spurrier, Urban Meyer, Tommy Tuberville, Houston Nutt and Rich Brooks. Now it's a league playing catch-up to Saban's dominance, with only Georgia's Kirby Smart, a former defensive coordinator for Saban, showing signs of gaining ground.

So what advice would Saban have for those such as Bielema and Jones, who keep trying but are now slipping?

"You've got to stay focused on the process of what you've got to do and keep doing it," he said. "You've got to keep believing in it and keep trusting in it. Don't compromise the things you believe in that are going to help get you where you want to go in the end."

Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.

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