One of college football’s most decorated head coaches of all time is reportedly planning to retire.
Alabama announced Wednesday that head coach Nick Saban is retiring.
“The University of Alabama has been a very special place to Terry and me,” Saban stated in a release. “We have enjoyed every minute of our 17 years being the head coach at Alabama as well as becoming a part of the Tuscaloosa community. It is not just about how many games we won and lost, but it’s about the legacy and how we went about it. We always tried to do it the right way. The goal was always to help players create more value for their future, be the best player they could be and be more successful in life because they were part of the program. Hopefully, we have done that, and we will always consider Alabama our home.”
According to Chris Low of ESPN, Saban is retiring immediately. He informed the Crimson Tide team today, according to Low.
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Saban won six national championships Alabama since taking over prior to the 2007 season. Across his 17 years with the Crimson Tide, Saban won nine Southeastern Conference championships.
Saban and Alabama most recently competed in the College Football Playoff Semifinals at the Rose Bowl against eventual-champion No. 1 Michigan. It marked Alabama’s eighth CFP appearance under Saban.
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“Simply put, Nick Saban is one of the greatest coaches of all time, in any sport, and The University of Alabama is fortunate to have had him leading our football program for the past 17 seasons,” Alabama Director of Athletics Greg Byrne stated in a release. “Throughout his career as a head coach, his teams have won seven national championships, 11 conference championships and 312 games, and he’s developed an NCAA-record 49 NFL first-round draft picks and, most importantly, hundreds of college graduates. He is the consummate coach, mentor and leader, and his impact is felt far beyond the football field.”
Saban has been named coach of the year nine times in his career. He’s earned a 35-12 record against top-10 teams since 2008, and he owns an 87.7% winning mark at Alabama.
Saban won the CFP National Championship in 2015, 2017 and 2020. He has seven total national championships, tied with legend Paul “Bear” Bryant for most in history.
According to Pete Thamel of ESPN, among the candidates to succeed Saban include Oregon’s Dan Lanning, Washington’s Kalen DeBoer, Clemson’s Dabo Swinney, Penn State’s James Franklin, Florida State’s Mike Norvell and Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman, among others.
