Greg Byrne on Nick Saban retirement: 'I wasn't taken by surprise'

Nick Saban’s announcement to retire took the entire college football world by surprise. Only a small number of people knew of Saban’s plans to move on from coaching — and that included Alabama athletic director Greg Bryne.

Bryne explained his involvement in Saban’s retirement timeline, and how much the legendary Alabama coach let him in on his plans.

“I don’t want to say a date and a time, but I couldn’t have asked for better communication,” Bryne told reporters. “… And I wasn’t taken by surprise.”

At 72, at least a couple of times a season Saban would be asked about his future. As any coach does, he would waive it off and discuss the current state of their program. Behind the scenes, however, it does seem as though there were some conversations over the past several months about the two sides parting ways.

And it’s not as though Saban is leaving Tuscaloosa entirely. During his introductory press conference on Saturday, new head coach Kalen DeBoer says Saban has 100 percent access to his coaching of the Crimson Tide program and has picked the seven-time national champion’s brain on more than one occasion in the 24 hours since being named head coach.

Saban revealed in a sit-down interview with ESPN’s Rece Davis that he will be given an office inside Bryant-Denny Stadium and that he can stop in to check on things as he turns over the keys to the empire that he has built to DeBoer.

Of course, DeBoer has been a winner everywhere he’s gone — and that trend is sure to continue at Alabama. While DeBoer has massive shoes to fill, he is fresh off a run to the College Football Playoff National Championship game and has officially solidified himself as one of the top coaching minds in power five football. 

Now that the hire is official, Alabama fans can look back on the 2023-24 season as a perfect tuning session for what he’d be capable of leading a program like Alabama. With those types of resources, the sky is the limit for DeBoer in Tuscaloosa.

Having the ability to contact Nick Saban at any point in time is also a helpful tool for any head coach to use. It’s unlikely the DeBoer won’t use that to his advantage as he gets comfortable in Saban’s old seat.

The Kalen DeBoer era kicks off on Aug. 31, 2024, against Western Kentucky inside Bryant-Denny Stadium.