Coach of Alabama football, Nick Saban, declares his retirement

After spending 17 seasons in Tuscaloosa, Nick Saban, one of college football’s all-time great coaches, won seven national championships, six of which he used to rebuild Alabama back into a national powerhouse. On Wednesday, Saban announced his retirement.

“For Terry and me, the University of Alabama has been a very special place,” Saban stated in a statement. “We have cherished every second of our 17 years as Alabama’s head coaches and our integration into the Tuscaloosa community. It matters more than simply how many games we win and lose; it matters more about our legacy and method of operation. We always made an effort to do things correctly. Being the greatest player possible, helping players produce more value for their future, and helping them succeed in life as a result of being a part of the program was always the aim.

“Hopefully, we’ve succeeded in doing so, and Alabama will always be home to us.”

After 17 seasons at Alabama, 72-year-old Nick Saban just concluded his career there with a Rose Bowl loss to eventual national champion Michigan. His 201 victories matched him with Georgia’s Vince Dooley for the second-highest total at one institution in SEC history, only surpassed by Bear Bryant’s 232 victories over his 25 seasons at Alabama.

Alabama to legendary heights under Bryant, taking home six national crowns and 13 SEC championships. With nine conference titles and six more national titles, Saban brought the Crimson Tide back to those pinnacles.

Greg Byrne, athletic director at Alabama, stated, “Nick Saban is one of the best coaches of all time, in any sport.” He is the epitome of a leader, mentor, and coach, and his influence extends well beyond the football field. Even if his tenure as our coach is over, his influence will never fade. What a privilege it has been for us to watch one of the greatest do it ever in person.”

Sources informed ESPN’s Chris Low that Saban insisted on informing his players of his retirement ahead of time, and he did so on Wednesday during a meeting at 5 p.m. ET. A normal team meeting was scheduled for Tuesday, but due to inclement weather, some players were unable to make it. As a result, the meeting was postponed to Wednesday. Saban returned to Tuscaloosa on Monday after spending the holiday weekend at their Florida home with his wife, Terry.

For around fifteen minutes, Saban told the players and staff in the team room that he was retiring. Next, he said that Byrne wished to speak with them. While Byrne was speaking, Saban walked out of the room and had more conversations with his staff.

Almost everyone in the program was taken aback by Saban’s declaration and its timing. One hour before he announced his retirement from his team, he was conducting Zoom interviews with prospective assistant coaches. After deciding to resign, he also conducted interviews with certain applicants on Tuesday, and reports said he didn’t want to go further in that direction.

During the meeting on Wednesday, Saban expressed his gratitude to his players for their support and assured them that he had given his choice considerable consideration. He informed his players that it was time for him to resign due to the changes in college football, including the use of the transfer portal and tampering, the extension of the recruiting calendar, and the use of NIL as a front for bidding on transfers and high school players.

Low was informed by sources that Saban was becoming more and more irritated with “what college football has become.” The only thing that appears to be important these days, despite his emphasis on teamwork, player development, and winning in the NIL, is who can score the most points and land the richest deal.”

Saban never had a losing season in his 28 years as a collegiate head coach, a record that featured seven national championships, 12 conference titles (11 SEC, 1 MAC), and 19 bowl game victories. His two poorest seasons at Michigan State (finishing.500) were in 1996 and 1998.

After spending two years in the NFL with the Miami Dolphins, he went back to college football to bring back one of its most illustrious schools, which had not won a national championship in fifteen years. In his seventeen seasons at Alabama, he won more games (201) than the Crimson Tide did in the twenty-four seasons that elapsed between Bryant’s retirement and Saban’s hire (171).

With a 292-71-1 record as a college football coach, Nick Saban is ranked sixth all-time in the FBS in terms of victories and 12th overall in NCAA college football history, division-neutral. In 1990, his only year coaching Toledo, he guided the team to a MAC title. After serving as Bill Belichick’s defensive coordinator for four seasons with the Cleveland Browns, he was hired as the head coach of Michigan State, where he led his first three teams to bowl games and later led LSU to the 2003 national championship.

But it was at Alabama that he truly established himself as one of the all-time great college football coaches.

Following a 7-6 season in 2007, Alabama won 16 consecutive seasons with at least 10 victories under head coach Nick Saban—the longest winning run of any team in the AP poll era (since 1936). This is true even though, during Saban’s tenure, the program played 107 games against AP-ranked teams—14 more than any other program.

Being the only head coach in the BCS/CFP era (since 1998) with two undefeated national championship seasons, he guided the Crimson Tide to undefeated national championship seasons in 2009 (14-0) and 2020 (13-0). Since 1998, he has won seven BCS/CFP national championships, more than any other head coach. Next with three (Florida, Ohio State) is Urban Meyer, followed by Urban Meyert of Georgia and Dabo Swinney of Clemson with two apiece.