Nick Saban officially announces retirement, releases statement

After a legendary coaching career, Nick Saban has officially announced his retirement. The Alabama head coach informed his players of his decision Wednesday afternoon after 17 seasons in Tuscaloosa, and he released a statement as he made the news official.

“The University of Alabama has been a very special place to Terry and me,” Saban said. “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.”

Saban, 72, was the head coach at Alabama since 2007, leading the Crimson Tide to six national championships during that time. He also won a title at LSU, giving him seven championships as part of his legendary career — widely considered the greatest of all time.

Questions about retirement swirled around Nick Saban during and after the 2023 season

Saban received multiple questions about that idea of retirement this year, most recently during one of his regular appearances on The Pat McAfee Show on Jan. 4. 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.’”

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.