Published: January 10, 2024 at 6:06 PM ET
Nick Saban, the tough coach who won seven national championships and led Alabama back to being a national powerhouse in just 17 seasons, including six of those championships, is retiring, according to multiple reports.
Saban, 72, took over in 2007 and revitalized the Crimson Tide program, which had once been under the leadership of Paul “Bear” Bryant, and rose to the top of college football. His decision to step down was reported Wednesday, first by ESPN and then by other media outlets.
Saban…
Nick Saban, the tough coach who won seven national championships and led Alabama back to being a national powerhouse in just 17 seasons, including six of those championships, is retiring, according to multiple reports.
Saban, 72, took over in 2007 and revitalized the Crimson Tide program, which had once been under the leadership of Paul “Bear” Bryant, and rose to the top of college football. His decision to step down was reported Wednesday, first by ESPN and then by other media outlets.
Saban led the Crimson Tide to a Southeastern Conference championship this season after a shaky start and a return to the College Football Playoff, but they lost to Michigan in the Rose Bowl semifinals.
Saban led the Tide to nine Southeastern Conference championships and won Alabama’s first national title with a 14-0 season in 2009. He also won the title in 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017, and 2020. Alabama was always the favorite to win the championship, but they never came close. title since then.
Saban is known for his grimaces on the sidelines, his fiery demeanor, and his victories. Saban won more national titles than any other major college coach.
He spent two years in the NFL with the Miami Dolphins before returning to college football to revive one of college football’s most storied programs that hadn’t won a national title in 15 years. Saban is 297-71-1 as a college head coach, playing at Michigan State, Toledo and LSU, where he also won a national title. But Alabama is where he cemented his place as one of college football’s great coaches.
His latest team faced a lot of early adversity, including a loss to Texas, but bounced back with the emergence of quarterback Jalen Milroe and upset the then-No. 1 team. 1 Georgia in the SEC Championship Game.
Saban didn’t seem like a coach who was going to quit his job immediately after the game. But even without a title, it wasn’t a bad way to go.
“This season was one of the greatest in Alabama football history in terms of where this team came from, what it was able to accomplish, winning the SEC Championship, and I’m really proud of this group. ” he said.
“I wish I could have done more as a coach to help them succeed and help them finish. All we can do now is learn from the lessons that sometimes failure brings.”
