Legendary Alabama head coach Nick Saban is retiring, according to ESPN’s Chris Lowe. The seven-time national champion became the face of the entire sport and built the Crimson Tide into a dominant program in the country during his tenure, which included six national championships.
This season alone, he led an Alabama team that had question marks after a shaky start to the SEC title and a College Football Playoff berth. He then returned to college sports as the head coach at Michigan State University, where he spent five years until 2000 when he took the helm at LSU.
He will be best remembered for his 17-year tenure with the Crimson Tide, which began in 2007 and was one of the most consistently successful in college football history. It quickly reached a shocking point that Saban’s Crimson Tide team, which won BCS championships in the 2009, 2011 and 2012 seasons, would not be able to participate in the national title game.
This formula has remained the same throughout the College Football Playoff era, with the University of Alabama winning the national title at the end of the 2015, 2017 and 2020 seasons. Although Saban’s time as head coach at Alabama ended with a loss to Michigan in the CFP, he will forever be remembered as one of the sport’s greatest winners.
In Saban’s last 16 seasons at #Alabama:
– 199-23 (.896 winning percentage)
– 9 SEC titles
– 6 National Championships
– Gave one of the greatest pre-game speeches of all time
🐐pic.twitter.com/GTa6EDkGuV https://t.co/nS21e0lVho
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) January 10, 2024
Nick Saban, one of college football’s greatest coaches who won seven national championships and restored the University of Alabama to a national powerhouse in six of them, has informed the Crimson Tide that he is retiring, a source said. He told ESPN’s Chris Lowe on Wednesday.
Under Bryant, Alabama reached the top of the dynasty, winning 13 SEC championships and six national championships. Saban took the Crimson Tide back to that level, winning nine conference titles and six national championships.
In 28 years as a college head coach, a career that included seven national championships, 12 conference championships (11 SEC, 1 MAC) and 19 bowl championships, Saban was undefeated. He won more games in 17 seasons at Alabama (201) than the Crimson Tide won in 24 seasons between Bryant’s retirement and Saban’s hiring in 2007 (171).
He led the Crimson Tide to undefeated national championship appearances in 2009 (14-0) and 2020 (13-0), becoming the only head coach in the BCS/CFP era (since 1998) and many other national tournaments. The Crimson Tide has three players selected in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft, including the Crimson Tide’s No. 1 overall pick.
The No. 1 general draft pick in history (since 1967) was awarded to Bryce Young. Saban selected 49 players in the first round, including 44 from Alabama, the most of any coach during the draft. In the ESPN 300 era (which began in 2006), no coach has more No. 1 coaches.
He just peaked in his final season, going from a shaky start to knocking off No. 1 Georgia in the SEC Championship game and back in the College Football Playoff before falling to Michigan in overtime losses in semifinal game in the Rose Bowl. Alabama’s odds to win next season’s national championship went from 6-1 to 8-1 on ESPN BET after Saban’s retirement.
ESPN’s Chris Lowe is reporting for the ages that legendary Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban is retiring. Saban retires with 292 wins as a coach, including an impressive 206-29-0 record in his 17 years with the Crimson Tide. Saban also led the LSU Tigers to a national championship in the 2003 season.
Prior to LSU, Saban coached one year at Toledo (1990) and Michigan State (1995-99). A seven-time national coach of the year who won four titles in seven years, Saban said after the Tide’s loss in the 2024 semifinals that he was extremely proud of the group’s development, even if it fell short of expectations, his goal for the championship.
During his time at Alabama, he won six national championships: in the 2009, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017 and 2020 seasons.
Perhaps Saban’s most impressive title accomplishment came when LSU suffered a seven-game losing streak in the 1990s when Saban led the Tigers to a 21-14 victory over Oklahoma in the BCS title game Mama University.
Saban’s second championship in Tuscaloosa came against his former team, when Alabama defeated LSU 21-0 in the BCS title game at the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans.
Then-Heisman runner-up running back Trent Richardson ran for a 34-yard touchdown with 1:39 left, but Shelley failed to score. Saban and Alabama bounced back in the 2012 season, beating Notre Dame 42-14 in the BCS championship game. The win marked Alabama’s third championship in four years under Saban and the school’s ninth.
Although Eddie Lacy and Amari Cooper both scored twice for the Tide, both were hit by Alabama quarterback A.J. MCALLEN – What will be most memorable about this game is the hype surrounding Heisman finalist and Notre Dame Quarterback Manti Te’o, who was in a brutal game Cat killed on a hunting trip.
In one of the most exciting games of the College Football Playoff, Saban led Alabama to a 45-40 victory over Clemson in the second CFP game of the year in Phoenix.
Trailing 24-21 early in the fourth quarter, Alabama scored 10 straight points before scoring four in the final 7:31. With the victory, Saban became the only coach to win five national championships. Tagovailoa, who won the title after being sacked for a 16-yard touchdown, was the favorite in Tuscaloosa.
The victory went to Kirby Smart, a Saban protégé and longtime Alabama defensive coordinator. Saban’s last title came against Ohio State, and Alabama used another great second quarter to take a commanding 35-17 lead into halftime.
Seven-time college football national team coach Nick Saban is stepping down from the University of Alabama after 17 seasons, according to multiple media reports.
Saban has a 292-71-1 college football record with stops at Toledo, Michigan State, LSU and Alabama, where he won six more championships after winning his first title at LSU in the 2003 season.
Nick Saban is retiring, sources tell ESPN. He won six national titles at Alabama.
— Chris Low (@ClowESPN) January 10, 2024
The Crimson Tide’s 2021-22 athletics budget is $195.9 million, the third-highest among all public schools, according to Sportico’s university financial database. This year’s football coaching staff received $35.1 million, the seventh-highest compensation in Football.
The influence of his team’s success extended beyond the Alabama Athletics. The 72-year-old football figure has been open about recent NCAA policy changes, including allowing college athletes to be compensated for name, image and likeness.
“All I’m saying is that they’re all completely different than they were five years ago.”
With Saban’s departure, Crimson Tide football players will have access to the transfer portal for an additional 30 days.
The company recently acquired two Florida-based Mercedes-Benz dealerships for $700 million, according to Automotive News.
In August, Saban reportedly purchased a $17.5 million property on Florida’s posh Jupiter Island, next door to Tiger Woods’ home.
Fans reacted as follows:
What an incredible run. Next head coach will have big shoes to fill.
— Amit Momaya (@AmitMomayaMD) January 10, 2024
Greatest college football coach of all time! 💯🐐
— The Sports Forum (@DenverForum) January 10, 2024
WTH is going on man 😭😭😭😭
— Ja’s social media manager (@burrnnaaa) January 10, 2024
I’m ready to run thru a wall after that speech
— Samtheman67 (@samtheman67) January 11, 2024
What a joke and copycat you are, Dov. No respect for your profession peers, whatsoever! pic.twitter.com/pevqD1GR7r
— A. K. Neto (@netok7) January 10, 2024
No Tom Brady in the NFL. No Nick Saban in College Football.
Crazy how much has changed from when I was growing up lol. These are the people you thought of when talking about the NFL and College football.
— Pats Buzz (@PatsBuzz) January 10, 2024
JIM HARBAUGH ENDED NICK SABAN
— Gamble Online Michigan (@GambleonlineMI) January 10, 2024
Nick Saban ending a legendary college head coaching career…
• 4 different schools
• 297-71-1 record
• 7 national championships
• 12 conference titles
• So many awards it’s almost impossible to list them all— DraftKings (@DraftKings) January 10, 2024
(just a few) Nick Saban’s awards…
• 2x AP College Football Coach of the Year
• 5x SEC Coach of the Year
• 2x Walter Camp Coach of the Year
• 3x Bobby Bowden National Coach of the Year
• 2x Paul “Bear” Bryant Award
• 2x FWAA/Eddie Robinson Award
• George Munger Award— DraftKings (@DraftKings) January 10, 2024
Coach Saban Will Surely Be Missed And He Realizes That The Game of College Football Is Changing! Great Time to Escape While He’s Still A Winning Coach!
— Michael Eldridge (@Michael46294090) January 10, 2024
