Nick Saban probably didn't mean to spank Greg McElroy, AJ McCarron, Blake Sims and Jake Coker that way. At different points during their Alabama careers and since, those championship quarterbacks have been praised and embraced by their head coach.

But what Saban said after Saturday's scrimmage didn't exactly come across as a tribute to the signal callers that came before.

"You know, we've played here with quarterbacks on good teams that didn't necessarily do anything to win the game," Saban said. "They just didn't do anything to lose it, and I think it starts with that. Those are the kind of plays that we have to eliminate."

No doubt Saban was frustrated in the middle of a quarterback battle after a scrimmage too full of turnovers two weeks before the USC opener. Unfortunately, his words fed the myth that Alabama could win SEC and national titles with you or me under center.

At least as long as Lane Kiffin were there to coach us up.

It's true that Alabama annually is loaded with talent at other positions. The Crimson Tide has had 48 first-team Coaches' All-SEC selections during the Saban era: 14 offensive linemen, five running backs, two wideouts, six defensive linemen, eight linebackers, 11 defensive backs, one punter and one kicker.

How many of Saban's Alabama quarterbacks have the SEC coaches voted to their first team? None. McCarron made the second team in 2012 and 2013 behind Johnny Manziel. Sims made the second team in 2014 behind Dak Prescott, but the current SEC football media guide - in its Honors & Accolades section - lists Sims' position that year as ... wait for it ... wide receiver.

The oversight/slight couldn't be more fitting. Or more wrong.

Of course, the notion that Alabama quarterbacks are nothing more than caretakers is completely unfair to the men who've played that position on the Crimson Tide teams that have won four SEC titles and four national championships under Saban.

Two of the last three quarterbacks to win the SEC Championship Game MVP award are McElroy in 2009 and Sims in 2014. The other: Auburn's Cam Newton in 2010. McCarron was the offensive MVP in the 2012 BCS Championship Game, and Coker no doubt would've earned that honor for last year's playoff if they considered his outstanding work in both the semifinals and the championship game.

There are more examples, but here are four key performances - one from each of Saban's championship QBs at Alabama - where the Crimson Tide might not have won a conference or national title if not for stellar quarterback play.

The 2009 Iron Bowl

Soon-to-be Heisman winner Mark Ingram stumbled to 30 yards on 16 carries, and Alabama trailed Auburn for most of the game. McElroy came to the rescue. He completed 21 of 31 passes for 218 yards and two touchdowns, and he led the final come-from-behind drive in the fourth quarter by completing his last seven passes, converting his final throw for the game-winning touchdown. A week later, McElroy was the MVP of the SEC Championship Game when the opposing quarterback was Tim Tebow.

The 2012 BCS Championship Game

Sure, the Alabama defense shut down, shut out and shut up LSU, but the Tide had to score some points somehow. Heisman finalist Trent Richardson was held in check for much of the night, gaining 34 of his 96 yards on his final carry for the game's only touchdown, but McCarron wasn't. He stepped up to complete 23 of 34 passes for 234 yards and didn't throw an interception as the offense scratched out five field goals against a terrific LSU defense. That created some breathing room before Richardson's final score.

The 2014 Iron Bowl

It's not enough to be a game manager when the opposing quarterback is setting school records for passing yards and total yards and the opposing offense is hanging more yards on your defense than any in history. Auburn's Nick Marshall set the records, but Sims won the game. He overcame a terrible start, and just when you thought Saban would yank him for Coker, Sims got it together. He finished 20 of 27 for 312 yards, and his four touchdown passes more than made up for his three interceptions. The next week, he was the SEC Championship Game MVP.

The 2016 National Championship Game

This was the latest example of an underrated Alabama starter refusing to blink or shrink in the face of a big name doing big things. Clemson's Deshaun Watson put up gaudier numbers, but Coker stepped up in the tradition of McElroy vs. Tebow, McCarron vs. Manziel in 2013 and Sims vs. Marshall. The fifth-year grad transfer hit 16 of 25 passes for 335 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions.

Like his predecessors, Coker had to be much more than a game manager in a season-defining game. He couldn't just play it smart and safe and avoid the critical mistake that could lose the game.

He had to do something to win the game - a lot of somethings - and he did, just as he had in his 25-for-30 torching of Michigan State for 286 yards and two touchdowns in the semifinals.

Do-nothing quarterbacks don't win championships. No doubt the next Alabama quarterback will be a playmaker himself when the time requires.