A Christmas Miracle: Nick Saban named Coach of the Year as Tide sweep major SEC awards

In a year where his team became the first ever to win 11 SEC contests with zero losses, Nick Saban was finally recognized as the best coach in the conference for the second time during the Tide’s decade of dominance. That wasn’t all of the hardware Alabama took home.

Alabama’s DeVonta Smith was named SEC Offensive Player of the Year, while the Crimson Tide’s Patrick Surtain II was named Defensive Player of the Year. Georgia’s Jake Camarda was voted Special Teams Player of the Year, Missouri’s Connor Bazelak and Auburn’s Tank Bigsby shared SEC Freshman of the Year honors, Alabama teammates Landon Dickerson and Alex Leatherwood were named recipients of the Jacobs Blocking Trophy, and Alabama coach Nick Saban was named SEC Coach of the Year. Alabama’s Mac Jones earned scholar-athlete of the year honors.

It’s about time for Saban. He should have won it a minimum of half the time during his tenure.

Imagine having to choose between Najee Harris, who led the country in touchdowns scored, Mac Jones who currently has the best passer rating in NCAA history, and Smith for that offensive award. It’s great to see Surtain’s dominance rewarded, as well as Dickerson and Leatherwood.

It was a fine year to be an Alabama fan, folks.

Roll Tide.