Turn on tonight’s national championship game and you will see modern football at its finest. High powered offenses. Headsets everywhere. Laminated play sheets thicker than a Southern Baptist hymnal.

But hanging around all of it, whether anyone realizes it or not, is an old familiar figure.

Bear Bryant.

There has been a lot of buzz lately about Nick Saban’s coaching tree and how it seems to have RSVP’d en masse to the playoff. Mario Cristobal. Curt Cignetti. A group of head coaches who either worked for Saban or learned from someone who did. The internet loves a good coaching tree, and this one is having a moment.

But the funny thing is, Saban’s tree does not really start with Saban.

Back in the late 1970s, Frank Cignetti hired a young defensive backs coach at West Virginia. That coach was Nick Saban, long before championships, “the Process,” or insurance commercials. Years later, when Saban arrived at Alabama, he quietly closed the loop by hiring Frank Cignetti’s son, Curt, onto his staff. Curt Cignetti spent several years at Alabama soaking it all in before heading off on his own path, which now has him leading Indiana and popping up in big game conversations.

That is not just a coaching tree.
That is a family reunion.

If you keep pulling on that thread, it goes back even further. Frank Cignetti coached under Bobby Bowden at West Virginia. Bowden was part of the same coaching generation shaped, directly or indirectly, by Bear Bryant’s model of leadership. Different schools and different styles, but a lot of the same DNA built around preparation, discipline, accountability, and the belief that culture matters before talent ever takes the field.

Which brings us back to Alabama fans.

For a long time after Bear retired, Alabama fans wanted the next head coach to be one of Bear’s boys. Winning alone was not enough. That expectation followed every coaching search and worked against Bill Curry. When he left, Athletic Director Hootie Ingram understood the moment and knew exactly what had to happen. He hired Gene Stallings, a Junction Boy. That decision worked out pretty well, and Alabama fans finally settled down.

Over time, those memories faded. New generations came along. The requirement loosened.

And yet, in a very Alabama twist, the program ended up with a coach who fit the mold anyway. Nick Saban never played for Bear Bryant, but the way he ran a program felt familiar in all the ways that mattered.

Several generations removed, Alabama still kept it in the family.

So as the championship gets underway tonight and everyone talks about schemes, matchups, and coaching trees, just remember this story did not start this season.

Somewhere along the way, the Bear still had a hand in it.

Now you know the rest of the story. 🏈