Mark Stoops is the Longest Tenured Coach in the SEC after Saban Retirement

Nick Saban is no longer the Alabama head football coach. Let that sink in for a minute. The greatest coach in college football history has coached his last football game.

It’s news that is difficult to comprehend. In our fast-paced, 24-hour news cycle, it’s rare to have something stop you in your tracks. A coaching robot, few thought this day would ever arrive. At the dawn of a new SEC and 12-team CFB playoff, in the middle of the transfer portal and NIL college football landscape, Nick Saban is hanging it up.

What does this mean for the SEC? A lot. For Kentucky fans, it creates an astonishing fact. Kentucky’s Mark Stoops is now the longest-tenured head coach in the SEC.

Nick Saban won six national championships in his 17 years at Alabama. Stoops, the winningest head coach in Kentucky football history, will begin his 12th season next fall at Kentucky. Kirby Smart is just behind Stoops as he prepares for his ninth season Between the Hedges at Georgia… or is he?

“Who will be Nick Saban’s successor?” has been a fun theoretical talking point for years. Now it’s finally here and there’s no shortage of options because Saban curated such a collection of talented assistant coaches.

An internal promotion seems unlikely. Offensive coordinator Tommy Rees is too young and defensive coordinator Kevin Steele is too old. Once upon a time former Alabama wide receiver Dabo Swinney was the heir apparent. Steve Sarkisian (Texas), Lane Kiffin (Ole Miss) and Kirby Smart all spent extensive time on Saban’s staff. During an appearance on The Paul Finebaum Show, Bruce Feldman mentioned Sark, Oregon’s Dan Lanning and another coach in the national championship game, Washington’s Kalen DeBoer.

Times are a changing in college football. The race to win the SEC will include Texas and Oklahoma, but not Nick Saban. Wild.

Despite all of the changes, there’s a constant at Kentucky. Mark Stoops has significantly raised the floor, keeping Kentucky competitive in the greatest league in all of college football. What a wild time to be alive.

We’re processing it all and discussing the chaos on KSBoard. Some people are asking, did Mark Stoops send Nick Saban into early retirement? Join the KSR Club today.