Steve Sarkisian shouts out Nick Saban, Pete Carroll amid news of coaching tenures ending

The football coaching world lost two of the biggest titans of the past couple of decades on Wednesday. Both Alabama head coach Nick Saban and former USC/Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll finished their tenures with their respective teams.

Both coaches had extensive ties to Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian, who spent several years with Carroll as an assistant on the USC Trojans. Then, he had a brief stint with Saban when he worked as his offensive coordinator from 2019-2020.

The 2 GOAT’s! Would not be where I am today without these two men as mentors! Thank you for everything! pic.twitter.com/JTJCgOdYbN

— Steve Sarkisian (@CoachSark) January 10, 2024

“The 2 GOAT’s! Would not be where I am today without these two men as mentors! Thank you for everything!” Sarkisian wrote on his Twitter page.

Nick Saban is set to announce his retirement, ESPN’s Chris Low reported. Saban informed his Alabama players about his plans Wednesday afternoon.

Saban, 72, has been 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 Saban’s future swirled over the last few seasons as some wondered if he’d eventually step away from coaching and head into retirement. Those questions grew louder this season as Alabama went 12-2, including an 11-1 record over its final 12 games, to make the College Football Playoff once again. Many described it as Saban’s best coaching job considering some uncertainty at quarterback, which ultimately saw Jalen Milroe take the starting role and run with it.

Saban received multiple questions about that idea of retirement, 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.’”

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.

On3’s Nick Schultz also contributed to this article.