The coaching carousel spins every year in college football. Some programs get dizzier than others, though.

Change at head coach isn't always an indication of lack of success, but coaches who don't win don't last long. That's especially been the case as the sport has grown and patience dwindles more among fan bases.

What's the key to longevity in such a fickle business? Former Alabama football coach Nick Saban answered the question at SEC Media Days in 2021.

"That's simple; You've got to win," Saban said. "So what does it take to win? I think that answers the question better than anything. I think you have to have culture in your organization, which probably comes from the mindset of the people in your organization to have goals and aspirations for what they want to accomplish and what they want to do. I'm talking about players as well here. And they have to have a good understanding of what does it take to accomplish those goals and aspirations to be the best they can be? How do they have to edit their behavior to be able to do that? And can they have the discipline, the self discipline, on a daily basis to execute and do the things they need to do and make the choices they need to make so they can be the best they need to be?"

Or more simply put ...

Said Saban: "Good players. Good coaches. A supportive administration that gives you the tools you need to be able to continue to provide the resources to help the players be successful are all probably key ingredients of that."

Now, coaching changes aren't always the result of losing. A coach retiring is one (see Saban in January). Life circumstances can prompt a coach to step away. He can also take another job. There are plenty of different reasons.

Either way, those changes affect continuity in a program. And while change can be good, having the same coach for years upon years can be even better. Especially if that coach is winning.

Which SEC program has had the most head coaching continuity in the modern era of college football? The Tuscaloosa News examined all 16 SEC programs (starting July 1). Here's what we learned.

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Number of football coaches for SEC programs in modern era

Here's the tally, starting with fewest coaches to most.

9: Georgia

11: Alabama

12: Auburn, Missouri, Texas

13: LSU

14: Kentucky, Tennessee

15: Florida, Oklahoma, Texas A&M

16: Ole Miss

17: South Carolina

18: Mississippi State

19: Arkansas

20: Vanderbilt

Criteria explained

For the purpose of this exercise, the modern era of college football was determined to be the poll era, which began in 1936. The first coach counted for a program's tally was the coach who held the job as of 1936.

A couple other points to know about the numbers:

• Interim coaches aren't included.

• A coach had to have coached a game. So, Mike Price didn't count in the tally, for example.

• The number doesn't include hires ahead of the 2024 season. Again, they haven't coached a game yet. As a result, Kalen DeBoer (Alabama), Jeff Lebby (Mississippi State) and Mike Elko (Texas A&M) were not counted.

Georgia, Alabama football have least amount of turnover

A coaching leading your program for 20-plus years tends to help limit the number of coaching hires required. Saban's 17 seasons in Tuscaloosa is no short stint, but there are those with even longer tenures.

At Georgia, Wallace Butts spent 22 years coaching the Bulldogs. Then Vince Dooley lasted 25 seasons. At Alabama, Paul W. "Bear" Bryant spent 25 years coaching the Crimson Tide.

Auburn wasn't far behind with only 12 coaches since 1936. Ralph Jordan spent 25 years with the Tigers. Missouri didn't have a 20-year coach, but Don Faurot landed close with 19 years. Meanwhile, Texas had Darrell Royal, who lasted 20 years exactly.

Nick Kelly is the Alabama beat writer for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network, and he covers Alabama football and men's basketball. Reach him at nkelly@gannett.com or follow him @_NickKelly on X, the social media app formerly known as Twitter.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama football: SEC teams with most, least coaching turnover