Nick Saban’s coaching reign has come to an end. His dominance over college football, however, will forever linger in the lore of the sport.
Saban, who won seven national championships — more than any other major college football coach — and turned Alabama back into a national powerhouse with six of those titles in 17 seasons, announced his retirement Wednesday.
“The University of Alabama has been a very special place to Terry and me,” Saban said in a statement. “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.”
The 72-year-old Saban restored a Crimson Tide program once ruled by Paul “Bear” Bryant to the top of college football after taking over in 2007. As he stacked his wins, Saban’s celebrity status reached royalty levels in the state of Alabama.
For a time, he was the sport’s overlord and there was little that could be done to stop him.
Saban’s wife, Terry, posted about their “incredible run” at Alabama on the Facebook page for Nick’s Kids Foundation.
“We hope that the Saban legacy will be about helping others and making a positive difference in people’s lives as well as the winning tradition on the field,” Terry Saban wrote.
Saban’s retirement ends a career that has helped launch or relaunch the head coaching careers of Georgia’s Kirby Smart, Texas’ Steve Sarkisian and Mississippi’s Lane Kiffin.
He finished just shy of the top in his final season, leading the Tide from a shaky start to a Southeastern Conference championship and back into the College Football Playoff before falling in overtime to Michigan in a semifinal game at the Rose Bowl.
Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne called him “one of the greatest coaches of all time, in any sport.”
“He is the consummate coach, mentor and leader, and his impact is felt far beyond the football field,” Byrne said in a statement.
Saban led the Tide to nine SEC championships and won his first national title at Alabama with a 14-0 season in 2009.
Titles came again in 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017 and 2020.
He also won the SEC with LSU in 2001 and 2003, the year he won the national title with the Tigers.