Alabama coach Nick Saban retires after 17 seasons with Crimson Tide
Ryan Young
Nick Bromberg
Ryan Young · Nick BrombergSee more
Thu, Jan 11, 2024·7 min
Nick Saban is calling it a career.
The seven-time national champion head coach announced his retirement Wednesday. Saban spent the last 17 years of his coaching career at Alabama, and the Tide won six national titles during his time in Tuscaloosa.
“The University of Alabama has been a very special place to Terry and me,” Saban said in an Alabama statement. “We have enjoyed every minute of our 17 years being the head coach at Alabama as well as becoming a part of the Tuscaloosa community. It is not just about how many games we won and lost, but it’s about the legacy and how we went about it. We always tried to do it the right way. The goal was always to help players create more value for their future, be the best player they could be and be more successful in life because they were part of the program. Hopefully, we have done that, and we will always consid.
Saban, 72, led Alabama to three national titles in the BCS era and three in the College Football Playoff era. He led the Crimson Tide back to the playoff this year, though they fell to Michigan in the Rose Bowl.
Saban got his college coaching start at Toledo, where he spent one season in 1990. He then spent five seasons at Michigan State and another five at LSU, winning his first national championship in 2003. He briefly jumped to the NFL and led the Miami Dolphins for two seasons before he landed at Alabama ahead of the 2007 season.
In total, Saban compiled a career college record of 292-71-1. Assuming he doesn’t unretire, he’ll finish at No. 5 on the all-time wins list, 112 wins behind all-time leader Joe Paterno.
