Chasing the Bear: How Bear Bryant and Nick Saban Made Alabama the Greatest College Football Program of All Time

by Lars Anderson

A dual biography of two coaching legends -- Bear Bryant and Nick Saban -- who built the Alabama Crimson Tide into a true football dynasty.


Both Bear Bryant and Nick Saban are undeniable kings of college football, two coaches at Alabama who have each won more national championships -- six apiece -- than anyone else in the history of the game. CHASING THE BEAR examines how they did it, revealing along the way their similarities in style, background, football philosophy, and recruiting methods, while providing readers a rare inside look at two of the greatest leaders in the history of sports.

Bear Bryant and Nick Saban never met, but they have more in common than either of them realize. Both grew up in small towns -- Bryant in Moro Bottom, Arkansas, a dot on the map, and Saban from Monongah, West Virginia, population five hundred. As a child, Saban pumped gas at his father's service station, washing and waxing cars and doing anything he could to help the business. Bryant's father suffered from multiple physical ailments, which forced Bryant to work to keep the family farm going. Both men knew the value of hard work from the time they were young boys, and both understood that there were no shortcuts to success. But both dreamed of escaping their hometowns, and both used football as the means to do so.

Separated by two generations, Bear Bryant and Nick Saban are mythic figures linked by a school, a town, and a barroom debate centering on one question: Which is the greatest college coach of all time?

Genres: Sports, Football, Biography, Nonfiction

304 pages, Hardcover

First published September 3, 2019

Reviews

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, quick read that summarizes the similarities and differences between Alabama's two famous coaches. I was aware of some of those similarities, but Anderson structures the book to show how each, at different points of their careers, made similar moves that ensured the long-term viability of their programs. You also get the essence of each man - what drove them, what they did to succeed, and what they meant to those around them. If you're familiar with their stories, there's not a lot of new information, but what is here of both stories compliments the other.

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Roll Tide!! Greatest college football dynasty coached by the two greatest coaches of all time. I enjoyed many of the stories I already had heard and several new ones. It provided great insight into how to become successful really hasn't changed that much over the years. It was interesting to see how much these men were alike in their approaches to coaching. A book that any Bama fan will enjoy.

[Sam Culbertson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book. I have grown up a lifelong Alabama fan and am a recent graduate from the University of Alabama. I realize this makes me biased but I believe that this book tells an incredible story of two men who shaped and influenced a university, a city, a state and the entire southeast in ways we can not measure.

Anderson is a vivid story teller and his language really makes the pages come to life and paints a beautiful picture of both Bear Bryant and Nick Saban, and how they ascended to the mountaintop of their sports.

I highly recommend this book to all college football fans, especially Alabama fans. 5 stars, great read that kept me entertained with stories throughout.

Roll tide!

[Kadin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best sports book I've read since Moneyball. A biography of two greatest coaches in college football history, this is a must-read for Alabama fans, football fans, or anyone who wants an inside look at what made two of the most successful coaches in history who they were. It's as much a book about how to be a successful person as it is about how to be a successful football coach. It's phenomenally written and impossible to put down.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve become a fan of Lars Anderson’s sports histories…I thoroughly enjoyed “The Storm and the Tide,” and now enjoyed his dueling biographies of Bear Bryant and Nick Saban in “Chasing the Bear.”

[Scott Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love any book that covers the discipline of Nick Saban. Anderson contrasts this with the dogged determination of Bear Bryant. An excellent story!

[Jonathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have a complicated relationship with my father. I love him, and I know he loves me, but we were never close. To this day we struggle to have a conversation. When we spend time together on holidays there is a tension, or distance in the room. We just don't have that close relationship.

What we do have is college football, and Alabama. College football is the only sport my father has ever followed, and Alabama is his team. It was his father's team, and it is my team. I remember watching the 92 championship game against Miami, and hearing my dad celebrate as Alabama won. I was just a boy at the time. I didn't understand any of the rules, but I could feel his passion for the sport. I came to love it as well. It is now the only sport I follow with regularity.

So Alabama has a special place in my heart. Not just as a team to root for in the ups, and down, but as a place where my father and I can connect. We can shed the awkward tension that is so often hanging in the air between us, and just talk about the games, the plays, players, and coaches.

For much of my Dad's life the Bear was the greatest coach that ever was. He died before I was born though so I don't really know much about him. I didn't really understand, or follow, the sport until after he'd died. Saban is my generation's Bear. This book did a great job of telling me about both coaches, and showing me how despite their differences they had a lot in common.

So I enjoyed this book. I'll buy it, and read it again at some point. It's also a book I could sit down and talk with my Dad about. For that alone I'd give it 4 stars.

[Nick Rolston · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of the few books I have read cover-to-cover in a single sitting. Now that Nick Saban has won a record-breaking 7th championship, the book is particularly prescient. I found the style to be very easy to read and an incredible narrative weaving in the stories of Bear Bryant and Saban chronologically through alternating chapters. The back-and-forth style emphasizes the similarities between the two remarkable men, who both experienced hardships in their upbringing and discovered football as an outlet. The most striking similarity is their willingness to adapt the X's and O's of their coaching game, as both re-hauled their approach amongst the changing trends of college football. That said, they never strayed from their fundamental principles—Bryant's "Winning Program" ideals and Saban's "Process" are unwavering in a commitment to the smallest of details to win and built on the notion of recruiting the right people and working harder than anyone else. I found it so refreshing to see that there is no magic formula, it really comes down to establishing a system and then embracing the grind day in and day out for decades.

[Dave Cottenie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full disclosure ... I am not an Alabama fan and I really don't like Nick Saban or Bear Bryant. That being said, Chasing the Bear was an interesting concept alternating between Bryant and Saban at Alabama, putting their careers side-by-side for a perfect comparison. Lars Anderson does a terrific job of not getting lost in the details of various Alabama victories, but is masterful at highlighting those most important moments. It is almost eerie how the two careers are so similar. Anderson's style is easy going and flows nicely. He starts off at one point, which is kind of relevant to both coaches and then comes around full circle, right back to where he started. Very well written and interesting.

[Christopher Hachet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Roll Tide!

58 years old here. Not that much of a football fan but always liked the intensity, ethics, and attitude of both Bryant and Saban.

This book reads like a middle school novel in so many of the right ways. Two interesting characters leap off the pages at every turn and the pacing is gentle, steady and interesting.

And like that middle school novel this book just puts you right in the center of the action and keeps you there.

Watched a lot of football with my dad when I was a kid and this put me back in front of our color TV and eating popcorn 🍿 together.

Another absolute winner of a book that I can proudly recommend without reservation.

And….Roll Tide!

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Say what you want about Alabama, Bear Bryant and Nick Saban. At the end of the day they are a remarkable team and Bryant and Saban have both done a remarkable job of keeping Bama on the map and always relevant. These two men think so much alike it's almost like Saban was a reincarnation of the late, great Bear Bryant. Well done Lars Anderson and highly recommended whether you're a Bama fan or not.

[Herbie H Cordle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bama...Bama...Bama

I grew up listening and watching Bama when they were coached by Bryant. The experiences made me want to play for The Man! A dream I never realized. Now I get to watch Bama, coached by Saban. I recognized the similarities very early in the process. This book is a perfect recollection of two great coaches!

[Tami Genry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book to be well-paced, enlightening, and entertaining! Learning about the human side of these larger-than-life coaches (their relationships with players and their own families, hobbies and habits, upbringing, etc.) was so interesting and made the book much more personal than it just being another football book, although I love football. A great gift idea for sports fans.

[HWD High Library · Rating 2 out of 5]

This read like little more than propaganda. I have several issues with the book, but the biggest one is the flippant and tone-deaf treatment of race. Just disappointing. Other librarians had hyped this book up as one that even someone who doesn't like football would enjoy, but there was just too much football in it for that.

[Hunter Corbitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terrific overview of the life of Bear Bryant and Nick Saban. Well researched and provides insight into the minds of these great coaches.

There is a unique dynamic in the style and format of the book. The back and fourth between the two keeps the similarities and differences between the two at the forefront of your mind.

A must read for coaches and football fans.

[Leigh O · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m not an Alabama football fan but as a college football fan, I had to check this book out (years delayed but better late than never, right?). I didn’t know much about Bear Bryant’s career but knew about Nick Saban. I do wish we could get an updated version about the end of Saban’s tenure at Alabama but still enjoyed this book and the jumping between Bryant and Saban’s careers.

[Paul Mashack · Rating 5 out of 5]

After recently reading The System, I wanted to learn more about Saban. I was not disappointed with this book. Fantastic. The author adeptly draws parallels between Bear Bryant and Nick Saban. Highly recommend for any football fan, but also for anyone who seeks to learn from successful leaders.

[Kristin Ware · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read several books about Alabama coaches, but what was intriguing about this one was the style of going back and forth between Bryant and Saban. The parallels of their careers became more clear, and there were many details included in the book that were new to me.

[Jim Poling · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun quick read. Any Alabama fan or college football fan should enjoy this. As an Alabama alum during the Saban years I particularly enjoyed going down memory lane with those chapters. This is second book Iv read by Mr Lars Anderson, he’s a skilled reader who really does his research.

[Mark Caddell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Won the book from a Goodreads giveaway.
I am not a Alabama fan but after reading the book
I have a new outlook on Saban and the Tide.

[Amar Sohal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Read! Provide insight on the success both Bear Bryant and Nick Saban achieved while coaching at University of Alabama. Excellent book for leaders and managers.

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Never thought I would read a book about football and highly enjoy it. Great insight into coaching and extremely readable. I would recommend to any Crimson Tide fan.

[Dryan1066 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Average

[Larry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book for any fan of college football whether you like Alabama or not. It’s a dual biography of Bear Bryant and Nick Sabon that is written very well.

[Matt Galanos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book on two men from different eras who with similar philosophies have created a winning culture and legacy that is unparalleled.

[Lane Widick · Rating 5 out of 5]

EXCELLENT. Great book.

[Book]

Excellent

[Michele Perez · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you’re a college football fan but mostly an Alabama fan this is a must read.

[Mattaniah Gibson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inspiring stories of two men I admire deeply. I just wish the author had waited until Saban retired to properly end the book but still an excellent read.

[Wayne Rice · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting but little that was new