The preseason Dodd Trophy Watch List includes Alabama football coach Nick Saban. The SEC is not heavily represented with only one other SEC head coach on the 2023 Watch List.
The award is named for Georgia Tech legend, Bobby Dodd. Dodd coached the Yellow Jackets for 22 seasons, from 1945 through 1966. Dodd and Paul ‘Bear’ Bryant went head-to-head seven times with the Crimson Tide losing just once, by a single point.
The Dodd Trophy was created in 1976 by the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation. The award is managed by Peach Bowl Inc.