Deion Sanders shares surprised reaction to Nick Saban retirement

The sudden news of the retirement of the Alabama Crimson Tide‘s head football coach, Nick Saban, has stunned nearly everyone associated with the game. And with the legendary head coach exiting the coaching ranks, many individuals have begun sharing their personal stories about the now-former Alabama headman and sending him well wishes as he rides off into retirement.

One of the more prominent individuals to bid Saban a farewell is also a legend in his own right, a friend, colleague, and potential replacement for him at Alabama — Deion Sanders.

Sanders, who is the head football coach for the Colorado Buffaloes, had this to say about the retirement news.

“WOW! College Football just lost the GOAT to retirement. WOW! I knew it would happen 1 day soon but not this soon. The game has change so much that it chased the GOAT away. College football let’s hold up our mirrors and say HONESTLY what u see. #CoachPrime @CUBuffsFootball,” wrote Sanders via X.

Sanders and Saban have crossed paths a multitude of times in various different ways. Most notable would be the duo’s ongoing commercial collaboration for Aflac Insurance.

Nick Saban’s coaching resume — and tree — are among the all-time best

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.