Totally agree with the Florida football comment about getting rolling about 1980, however, the SEC has had a lot more than Bama.
Traditionally, Tennessee, Mississippi, LSU, Auburn, and Georgia all have strong traditions that go way back. Pre-1980 coaches with national titles include:
[HOF] General Neyland ( 4 Natl Titles), [HOF] John Vaught (3 Natl titles), [HOF] Shug Jordan (1 Natl Title), Paul Dietzel (1 Natl Title)
There have been other great coaches like Pop Warner, Vince Dooley, Charlie McClendon, etc. SEC has a very proud tradition, it's just that Bama has the richest tradition