Alabama’s Saban a Dodd Finalist

Officials from the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation in Atlanta along with  Peach Bowl, Inc. have announced the finalists for the 2023 Dodd Trophy Presented by PNC Bank, and Alabama's Nick Saban is one of them.

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Finalists include five of the nation’s top coaches in college football who embody the award’s three pillars of scholarship, leadership and integrity, both on and off the field.

That certainly describes Saban, who many feel has done his finest ever coaching job in 2023.

Because The Dodd Trophy represents more than just a coach’s performance on the field, a coach in his first year, who has not had a full season to establish his own impact on APR and the local community, is not eligible.

This year’s finalists represent three conferences, including the ACC, SEC and Pac-12. These coaches have combined for a 57-6 record so far this season and have between them won 519 career games, 16 FBS conference championships and seven national championships.

The 2023 Dodd Trophy Presented by PNC Bank Finalists:

Saban was awarded the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year award in 2014 and this marks Saban’s third selection as a finalist (2014, 2018). Kalen DeBoer, Eliah Drinkwitz, Jedd Fisch and Mike Norvell are all making their first appearance on the finalist list.

 Three of the five finalists – DeBoer (Pac-12), Drinkwitz (SEC) and Norvell (ACC) – won their respective conference’s Coach of the Year awards for this season, while DeBoer, Norvell and Saban also won their conference championships earlier this month.

 “This has been one of the most exhilarating years of college football in recent memory, but these five men found a way to stand out among the rest,” said Jim Terry, chairman of the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation. “Each of these coaches have left a significant mark on their respective universities and truly embody the guiding principles that this award stands for: scholarship, leadership and integrity.”

 “The Dodd Trophy is the sport’s most coveted coach of the year award because it looks holistically at all aspects of what a coach’s position should entail, both on and off the field,” said Gary Stokan, Peach Bowl, Inc. CEO and president. “These five finalists not only succeeded on the football field this year, but also in the classroom and throughout their communities as well.”

 Finalists were selected by a panel consisting of all previous winners, national media, a member of the Dodd family and a College Football Hall of Fame member. The winner of the 2023 Dodd Trophy Presented by PNC Bank will be announced in Atlanta during bowl week at this year’s Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl.

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