Deion Sanders shares his reaction to Nick Saban retiring, why he left college football

When former Alabama head coach Nick Saban retired, it sent a ripple throughout college football that was felt by other coaches around the country, including Deion Sanders at Colorado.

While making an appearance on the Joel Klatt Show, Sanders praised Saban when reacting to his retirement. He also made sure to emphasize that the tank wasn’t empty on Saban when he chose to leave college football.

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“First of all, let’s just get this straight,” Deion Sanders said. “He’s the magna cum laude. He is it. He is what we attain to just get next to and never eclipse it whatsoever… [He’s the best] ever. Ever. Let’s just get that straight.”

At this point, Joel Klatt emphasized that he believes Saban walked away from the game when he did because he no longer wanted to deal with changes in college football. That includes things like the Transfer Portal and NIL, in particular.

“It’s different. It’s different… He kept it a buck. He kept it 100,” Sanders said. “And I know how he got to that point. You hear the stories but you know the truth when you hear the truth and I know the truth. I just hate it for him because I felt as though he had so much more left but I understand when it’s not in you to do it that way, and you want to do it this way.”

Nick Saban retired while being widely considered the greatest college coach of the modern era, and if not that then all time. He had a record of 292-71-1 at Toledo, Michigan State, LSU, and Alabama. He also won seven national championships during his career.

“Shoot, it was like, ‘Darn, like we lost the OG. We lost the OG.’ He means so much to me personally as a man, and just watching him from near and far and being able to have access to pick up a phone and call him whenever I would need him and I didn’t abuse that situation whatsoever,” Sanders said.

“I hate that we lost him for college football’s sake, and why.”

Alabama chose to replace Nick Saban by hiring Kalen DeBoer to be its next head coach. His first game leading the program will come at the end of August in a game against Western Kentucky. Deion Sanders, meanwhile, is going into his second season at Colorado, looking to take a leap forward. His year will start with a game against North Dakota State.