Nick Saban reveals Miss Terry's message to him before retirement decision

Nick Saban’s decision to retire wasn’t made until the twelfth hour. He was only able to get there in time — and make the right decision — because of one person.

His wife, Miss Terry.

“She’s my best friend and we’ve always been close and always made decisions together — whether it was career decisions, personal decisions, whatever it might be,” the former Alabama head coach revealed in a sit-down interview with ESPN. “So I think she was a little concerned about ‘Are you going to be able to sustain the standard and the expectation of what we want to try to accomplish at Alabama, and can you do that or can’t you do it? I don’t want to see yourself kill you trying.’ That’s basically what the conversation went like.”

Regardless of Saban’s final decision, she promised to continue the steady support of her husband of 52 years just as she always has.

“She said I will work hard if you want to stay and do it one more year,” Saban continued. “But that’s the problem. When you get my age, it’s inevitable that it’s coming at some point in time. this year, the next year, the next year. I didn’t want to work on a year-to-year basis. I don’t think that’s fair to your staff. I don’t think that’s fair to the players. I think you need to make long-term commitments to people.”

After letting the shock of Saban’s announcement settle, Miss Terry released a statement of her own on behalf of the ‘Nick’s Kids Foundation,’ raving over the run her husband has had over the past 17 years and that she is thankful for all of the wonderful memories along the way.

Specifically, she wants the Saban legacy to be remembered as one that set out to make a positive difference in people’s lives all while carrying Alabama’s winning tradition on the field.

“The rules for the game of football may change, but the ‘process’ will never go out of style: hard work, discipline, the relentless pursuit of a worthy goal, not cutting corners, and doing things the right way for the sake of constant personal improvement, not for the scoreboard,” Terry wrote.

That quote is right out of the Saban playbook.

Now, the Sabans will ease into retirement but keep a watchful eye on the Alabama program. Nick Saban gets an office inside Bryant-Denny Stadium, which gives Miss Terry an excuse to see her beloved Crimson Tide.

Before we get there, however, Alabama has a coaching search they need to work through. Multiple top coaching names in the industry have been rumored to be receiving interviews for the vacant head coaching job. Dan Lanning is already out of the mix, according to reports, while several others, including Kalen DeBoer and Mike Norvell, among others, are expected to be receiving interest from the Crimson Tide.

Saban’s role in that transition remains to be seen, but he’s sure to aid if called upon. Just as he always has.