BATON ROUGE — LSU coach Nick Saban has been named as one of nine finalists for the prestigious Bear Bryant College Football Coach of the Year Award, the Houston Division of the American Heart Association announced on Monday.
Saban, who has already been named the Associated Press National Coach of the Year, led the Tigers to the school’s first national title in 45 years on Sunday with a 21-14 win over Oklahoma in the Nokia Sugar Bowl. The Tigers finished the season with a 13-1 overall mark.
In four years with the Tigers, Saban has guided LSU to a 39-13 overall mark and to a pair of Southeastern Conference titles and to the 2003 BCS national title.
Saban, who was a finalist for the Bear Bryant College Football Coach of the Year Award following the 2001 season, is joined by Tommy Bowden (Clemson), Lloyd Carr (Michigan), Pete Carroll (Southern Cal), Terry Hoeppner (Miami-Ohio), Paul Johnson (Navy), Steve Kragthorpe (Tulsa), Urban Meyer (Utah), and Bob Stoops (Oklahoma) as the nine finalists for the award.
The winner of the award, which is voted on by members of the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association, will be announced on Jan. 15 at a banquet at the Hilton Americas in downtown Houston.