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Saban denies GOAT status: I'm 'beneficiary' of Bear Bryant's success

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Nick Saban won a record seventh national title this season, but the Alabama head coach still doesn't believe he's done enough to surpass Paul "Bear" Bryant as the greatest college football coach ever.

"I don't really think there should be a comparison," Saban said on the "The Jake Asman Show" on SportsMap Radio. "Honestly, we have a great program here that benefits from everything that coach Bryant did at the University of Alabama, and what his family has done to support the University of Alabama through the years - Paul Jr., his son - they've made the place what it is, and we've been the beneficiary of that.

"It's certainly appreciated that people would make those kinds of comparisons, but it's not something ... that's significant to me. When it comes to what I do, and how we try to do it in a first-class way and have the best program that we can in the country, but I don't think we can have the best program in the country if it wasn't for what coach Bryant did here to establish this tradition of winning that he established."

Bryant coached the Crimson Tide from 1958-82 while also serving as Alabama's athletic director. He posted a 232-46-9 record and won six national titles with the team during that span.

Saban has been on the Alabama sideline since 2007, posting a 165-23 record and winning six national championships. The 69-year-old previously coached LSU from 2000-04, amassing a 48-16 record and winning another title.

Saban might not think he's the greatest college football of all time, but it seems he'll continue to pad his resume for the foreseeable future.

"It hasn't crossed my mind," he said when asked how much longer he wants to coach. "Because every year, as soon as the game is over, you have players going out for the draft, you have coaches getting head coaching jobs; you have to dive right into the next year that you don't even have time to think about it.

"As long as I'm healthy and feel like I can make a positive contribution to the program, I enjoy doing this and want to continue to do it."

For more, check out SportsMapRadio.com streaming live.

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