Nick Saban Announces Retirement
After signing an eight-year 93.6 million dollar contract in 2022, Nick Saban has announced his retirement just two years into the agreement.
Saban’s Path
Saban will go down as one of, if not the greatest college football coach of all time. Saban has coached for a numerous amount of teams. He started as a Grad Assistant at Kent State and moved up the ranks until his first head coaching position at Toledo in 1989. After flip-flopping between the NFL and college, Saban found his home in Tuscaloosa in 2007.
Stats
Saban will finish with a 292-71-1 college record, 19-12 in bowl games, 7 national championships, 11 SEC Championships, 5 SEC Coach of the Year Awards, 2 AP Coach of the Year Awards, and many more accolades.
Coaching Tree
Not only did he find success, but so did his assistant coaches. Saban has one of the most impressive coaching trees ranging from college coaches to the NFL. Some of the biggest names include Georgia Bulldogs Head Coach Kirby Smart, former Dallas Cowboys Head Coach Jason Garrett, current Cowboys Defensive Coordinator Dan Quinn, and Texas Head Coach Steve Sarkisian.
NFL Players
When it comes to producing NFL-caliber players, there was nobody better than Nick Saban. Just some of the guys who got drafted to the NFL from Bama include Jalen Hurts, Tua Tagovailoa, Derrick Henry, Mark Ingram, Josh Jacobs, Julio Jones, Devonta Smith, Amari Cooper, Minkah Fitzpatrick, Quinnen Williams, Patrick Suratain II, and CJ Mosley.
Alabama Coaching Candidates
It is going to be impossible to fill his shoes, but to keep the program successful somebody will have to try. Some possible candidates to take over the Crimson Tide include the current favorite, Head Coach of Oregon, Dan Lanning. Lanning was a Grad Assistant with Bama in 2015 when they won a national championship. Sarkisian is also an option that the Tide can look at. From the NFL level, former Titans head coach Mike Vrabel and Dan Quinn could be great options.
Alabama needs to make a decision on their next coach quickly. I would expect a lot of players to either transfer or decommit within the next week. If they can hire someone soon that has a good track record then they may be able to limit the damage. Lanning or Sarkisian may be the smartest option because if they can get one of them they can possibly flip some of their own commits to come with them to Alabama. Already one player has decommitted from Bama, 2024 5-star wide receiver Ryan Williams.
Why Retire?
Saban hasn’t come out on the reasons as to why he retired yet. If I had to guess it is because of the path the NCAA and college football is going down. Conference realignment, expanded playoffs, NIL, and the rise of the transfer portal will create a different landscape for college football. Saban is well-known for his recruiting, but competing with schools offering players millions of dollars and the portal he may have just said screw it I’m out. Or maybe he just wasn’t interested anymore.