Alabama’s Saban retiring after legendary profession

Jan 10, 2024, 05:16 PM ET

Nick Saban, among college football’s training greats who won 7 national championships and turned Alabama back into a nationwide powerhouse that consisted of six of those titles, announced his retirement Wednesday after 17 seasons in Tuscaloosa.

“The University of Alabama has been a very unique location to Terry and me,” Saban stated in a declaration. “We have actually enjoyed every minute of our 17 years being the head coach at Alabama in addition to ending up being a part of the Tuscaloosa neighborhood. It is not just about the number of games we won and lost, but it’s about the tradition and how we went about it. We constantly attempted to do it the right way. The objective was constantly to help players create more worth for their future, be the best player they might be and be more successful in life since they belonged to the program.

“Ideally, we have done that, and we will always consider Alabama our home.”

Saban, 72, just finished his 17th season at Alabama, which ended in a loss to eventual nationwide champ Michigan in the Rose Bowl. He won 201 games– connected with Vince Dooley (Georgia) for the second-most wins at a single school in SEC history, behind just Bear Bryant, who won 232 games in his 25 seasons with Alabama.Editor’s Picks 2 Related Under Bryant, Alabama reached dynastic heights, winning 13 SEC champions and 6 national titles. Saban returned the Crimson Tide to those heights, winning 9 conference crowns and six more championship games.” Put simply, Nick Saban is one of the greatest coaches of all time, in any sport, “Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne stated.”He is the consummate coach, mentor and leader, and his impact is felt far beyond the football field. … While his time as our coach might have come to an end, his tradition will reside on permanently. What an honor it has been for us to have a front-row seat to one of the best to ever do it.”Saban was insistent on telling his players first that he was retiring before it

got out publicly, and did so Wednesday in a 5 p.m. ET meeting, sources told ESPN’s Chris Low. A routine group meeting had actually currently been scheduled for Tuesday, but was rescheduled for Wednesday when some players weren’t able to make it back in time due to the fact that of weather condition issues. Saban and his wife Terry spent the long weekend at their home in Florida before returning to Tuscaloosa on Monday.Saban spoke with the players and staff in the team room for about 15 minutes, notifying them that he was retiring. He then told them that Byrne

wanted to talk with them. Saban left the space while Byrne was speaking and spoke with his personnel some more afterward.For just about everyone in the program, the timing of Saban’s announcement was a surprise. He was interviewing prospective assistant coaches via Zoom an hour

before telling his players that he was retiring. He had actually also spoken with some prospects on Tuesday, and according to sources, didn’t want to continue down that road after settling his decision that he was going to retire.In the conference Wednesday, Saban thanked his players for the way they purchased in and told them that he ‘d thought out his decision carefully. But with the method college football has altered in terms of the transfer portal and tampering, NIL being utilized as a guise for bidding for high school players and transfers, and the recruiting calendar being extended, he told his players that the time was right for him to retire.Nick Saban Head Coaching Record Seasons Team W-L 1990 Toledo 9-2 1995-99 Michigan State 34-24-1 2000-04 LSU 48-16 2005-06 Dolphins 15-17 2007-23 Alabama 201-29– ESPN Stats & Details Sources told Low that Saban had grown progressively frustrated

with “what college football had actually become. He’s everything about group and constructing a group and establishing players, and now

the only thing that seems to matter is who can get what in the NIL and who can get the greatest deal.”In his 28 years as a college head coach– a career that consisted of seven nationwide titles, 12 championship game(11 SEC, 1 MAC)and 19 championship game wins– Saban never ever had a losing season. His worst seasons were in 1996 and 1998 at

Michigan State (finished.500). He made a two-year venture into the NFL with the Miami Dolphins before going back to college football to restore among college football’s most storied programs, which hadn’t won a national title in 15 years. He won more games in 17 seasons at Alabama (201 )than the Crimson Tide won

in the 24 seasons in between Bryant’s retirement and Saban’s hiring(171). Saban is 292-71-1 as a college coach, ranking him 6th perpetuity in the FBS in wins, and 12th in NCAA college football history regardless of division. He led Toledo to a Mid-American Conference championship in 1990,

his lone season as that program’s coach. He then worked as Costs Belichick’s protective coordinator with the NFL’s Cleveland Browns for 4 seasons before ending up being the first Michigan State coach to lead his first three teams to championship game and after that taking LSU to the 2003 national title.But Alabama is where he cemented his status as one of college football’s biggest coaches.After going 7-6 in

his launching season in 2007, Alabama won a minimum of 10 games in 16 straight seasons under Saban, the longest streak by any program in the AP survey age(because 1936). This despite playing 107 games against AP-ranked groups throughout Saban’s tenure, 14 more than any other program.Alabama Under Nick Saban FBS Rank Wins 201 * 1st Win pct.874 * 1st Opp PPG 15.7 1st PPG diff +22.0 1st YPG diff +161 1st * Does not consist of 5 left games in 2007– ESPN Stats & Information He led the Crimson Tide to undefeated championship game seasons in 2009( 14-0)and 2020 (13-0), the only head coach in the BCS/CFP period(since 1998)with multiple undefeated national championship seasons.

His seven BCS/CFP national championship wins since 1998 are more than double the quantity of any other head coach. Urban Meyer is next with three( Florida, Ohio State), followed by Georgia’s Kirby Smart and Clemson’s Dabo Swinney with two each.He might have lasted simply 2 seasons in the NFL, however Saban continued to coach NFL skill because pertaining to Alabama. The Crimson Tide had three players chosen in the preliminary of the 2023

NFL draft, which included the Tide’s very first No. 1 overall choice in the typical draft age(given that 1967)in Bryce Young. Saban has actually had 49 players

selected in the preliminary– consisting of 44 at Alabama– the most of any coach in the common draft era.He also coached Alabama’s four Heisman Trophy winners, while controling on the recruiting path. In the ESPN 300 period( since 2006), no coach has actually had more No. 1 recruiting classes than Saban, who boasted 8 of the 18 No. 1 total classes during that period, regardless of not taking control of at Alabama until 2007. No other head coach has more than 3 No. 1 classes.”Words can not effectively express our gratitude to Coach Saban for his excellent management and service to The University of Alabama over the previous 17 years,”said Alabama president Stuart R. Bell.

“His commitment to excellence has set the standard for our program, both on the field and in the classroom. We are grateful for the lasting effect he has actually made on the lives of our student-athletes and the incredible memories his teams have developed for our trainees, alumni, fans and supporters. “Simply as famous as Saban’s coaching résumé is his coaching tree, as his tutelage assisted release the head-coaching careers of Smart, Texas ‘Steve Sarkisian and Ole Miss’Lane Kiffin, among others. Other noteworthy head coaches who became part of Saban’s personnels consist of Mario Cristobal(Miami), Brent Key (Georgia Tech ), Dan Lanning(Oregon, who was graduate assistant under Saban)and Mike Locksley(Maryland). Under Saban, the Crimson Tide reached the College Football Playoff in eight of the 10 seasons in the CFP period. He completed

just shy of the top in his last season, leading the Tide from an unstable start to an upset of then-No. 1 Georgia in the SEC championship game and back into the College Football Playoff before falling in overtime to Michigan in a semifinal game at the Rose Bowl.Nick Saban 109 (all with Alabama) ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Ohio State 105 Oklahoma 101 Notre Dame 98 USC 91 * Alabama: 31 weeks at No. 1 before Saban– ESPN Statistics & Details In August 2022, Saban signed a contract extension through February 2030 worth almost$94 million that once again made him the highest-paid coach in college football. When asked at the time if he would “still be here”throughout the rest of his agreement extension, Saban had a ready answer.”Still alive?”he joked. “I sure strategy to be here coaching.”SEC commissioner Greg Sankey feels Saban isn’t done totally with college football. “Knowing Nick? He’s not leaving the game. He’s walking away from a function, “said Sankey, who was in Phoenix going to the NCAA convention when he heard the news about Saban’s retirement.With Saban retiring, Mark Stoops at Kentucky is now the longest-tenured SEC head coach( 2013). Concerning who will lead the Crimson Tide going forward, Byrne said his objective in the search for a new coach”is to be extensive, however expedient.””Our perfect candidate will be strong in recruiting and relationship structure, player development, master Xs and Os and have the overall ability

to lead this	historic program,”Byrne said
.”There will
be a lot of	reports out there during this process. Next time I
talk publicly will be to reveal our
new	coach. If you don’t hear
it from me, don’t think it. “Alabama’s chances to win next season’s	national championship moved from 6-1 to 8-1 at ESPN BET after Saban’s retirement was reported. The Crimson Tide have the third-shortest chances, behind Georgia and Ohio State.ESPN’s Chris Low, ESPN Stats & Details and The Associated Press added to this report.