Nick Saban cited age, health concerns when informing players of retirement

If the news of Nick Saban’s decision to retire came as a shock, that’s because it seemed like a normal day. The Alabama head coach was conducting interviews for open staff positions Wednesday morning ahead of a mandatory team meeting, which was already scheduled.

That’s when Saban informed his players of his decision to retire, citing his age and health concerns, BOL’s Charlie Potter confirmed.

Saban, 72, faced questions throughout the season about the idea of retirement. He repeatedly talked about how much fun he had coaching this year’s team, which rallied to go 12-2, and didn’t seem to indicate he was nearing the end of the line.

His most recent question came from Pat McAfee last week. When asked about people questioning how much he has left in the tank, Saban said it must be because he’s “old” before pointing out he gets questions from recruits, as well.

“Look, I ask everybody that asks me that question, ‘Are you going to be here for four years?’” Saban said. “Some players ask me when you’re going to retire, I’ve looked at them and say, ‘Well can you guarantee me that you’re going to be here for four years?’ and they looked at me like ‘Hell no I’m not.’”

More on Nick Saban’s legendary coaching career

Saban’s storied coaching career started in 1973 when he was a graduate assistant at his alma mater, Kent State. From there, he had assistant coaching stints at Syracuse, West Virginia, Ohio State, Navy and Michigan State before he got his first head coaching opportunity at Toledo in 1990.

After just one season, though, Saban headed to the NFL with the Cleveland Browns under the legendary Bill Belichick. He worked as Belichick’s defensive coordinator from 1991-94 before becoming a head coach once again at Michigan State from 1995-99, amassing a 34-24-1 record before he took over at LSU in 2000 — where he won a national title three years later.

All told, Saban had a 292-72-1 record as a college football head coach, including a 201-29 mark in Tuscaloosa. He also had a stint with the Miami Dolphins from 2005-06 where he went 15-17 before taking over at Alabama.

Even beyond his personal success, Saban also produced one of the best coaching trees ever. Kirby Smart is among the most notable names, winning two national championships at Georgia in 2021 and 2022 — beating Saban to win the first one. Smart is just one of the current head coaches to learn from Saban, though, as he helped resurrect some careers as well.

Texas’ Steve Sarkisian, Ole Miss’ Lane Kiffin and Maryland’s Mike Locksley all worked under Saban as offensive coordinator before getting their respective head coach opportunities. Other high-profile current head coaches who worked under Saban include Florida’s Billy Napier, Oregon’s Dan Lanning and Miami’s Mario Cristobal.