Alabama Football Coach Nick Saban Announces Retirement After Winning Seven National Titles

Nick Saban’s tenure of being the coach is over. However, his dominance over college football will remain lingering in the sport’s lore forever.

Sports Illustrated, along with other outlets are confirming that Saban – the man who won seven national championships more than any other major college football coach and returned Alabama back to a dynasty again in just his 17 seasons there – is retiring.

72-year old Saban revitalized a Crimson Tide program once led by the legendary Paul “Bear” Bryant back to the top of college football after he took over in Because. His departure was announced on Wednesday by ESPN and picked up by other outlets ending a career that racked up many titles along the way to helping jumpstart or resurrect head coaching gigs of Kirby Smith at Georgia, Steve Sarkisian with Texas , and Lane Kiffin in Mississippi.

His final season ended one penalty away from the top as he led Tide to a shaky start and then steered it back into College Football Playoff championship round only for everything to crumble when in overtime they lost spectacularly at Rose Bowl to Michigan.

Saban guided the Tide to nine Southeastern Conference titles and secured his first national title at Alabama with a perfect 14-0 season in 2015, 2017 and In the years The titles came again in 2019. He also captured the SEC with LSU in 2001 and .

Colorado coach Deion Sanders, who has been seen with Saban in a string of commercials responded strongly both to Alabama’s coach retirement and the state of college football.

“WOW! College Football just lost the GOAT to retirement,” Sanders wrote on X. 1 day soon, but not this soon. They changed the game so much that it chased away the GOAT. College football, let us hold up our mirrors and say HONESTLY what u see.”

Saban took a two-year detour to the NFL with Miami Dolphins and went back in college football where he was entrusted with one of university level national championship teams that hadn’t been on top for 15 years. Saban is 297-71–1 as a college head coach at Toledo, Michigan State and LSU where he also was able to win national title. But Alabama is where he established himself as one of the best coaches in college football history.

Saban coached Alabama’s first four Heisman Trophy winners and manufactured a cavalcade of NFL players, like finishing with an 87.7 winning percentage on a record of 206-29. His teams produced 44 first-round draft picks, including last year’s No. 1 quarterback Bryce Young.

Throughout that period, he was also able to change as time went on-surviving the fast-paced offenses and scoring runs while emerging with some of the nation’s most reputable defences next door.

1990 was his one and only season as a head coach for that program, leading them to the Mid-American Conference championship. Saban was Bill Belichick’s defensive coordinator with the NFL’s Cleveland Browns for four seasons before his role as Michigan State Spartans head coach to lead his first three teams into bowl games and LSU led by him also werein in 2003 title national.

His new team suffered several setbacks early enough, such as a loss to Texas but later bounced back after the emergence of quarterback Jalen Milroe and upset thenNo. 1 Georgia vs Florida in the SEC championship game.

After the game, Saban didn’t sound like a coach on his way out of the job. But it was not such a bad thing to die for, even if he didn’t have the title.

“In terms of where this team came from and what they were able to accomplish, which was winning the SEC championship,” he said. This is one of the most sensational seasons in Alabama football history and really proud of this group.”

“I just wish I could have done more as a coach to help them be successful, and finish their races but all we can do now is learn valuable lessons that sometimes emanate from our level of failure”