BREAKING: ESPN Reports Alabama Crimson Tide Coach Nick Saban Is Retiring
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ATHENS - The greatest college football coach of all time is turning in his whistle. UGA Football will have to find a new foil. Alabama coach Nick Saban is retiring.
After a brilliant college football coaching career where he led LSU to a national championship before turning Alabama football into a dynasty with six more national titles, Alabama head coach Nick Saban plans to retire according to ESPN’s Chris Low.
Saban was a career 292–71 as a college head football coach. He was a true visionary who always found a way to adapt to the changes of college football, and turned the Crimson Tide into an absolute powerhouse from 2009-2020.
Saban has been in the way of the Bulldogs’ championship hopes several times. Painful losses in 2012 and 2017 came down to the final play of the game and cost the Bulldogs a national title in both cases. In both cases Saban’s Tide won it all at Georgia’s expense.
Saban’s retirement leaves a massive void not just for the Tide, but for the SEC as well. The winningest coach of this century and the coach who won more College Football Playoff National Championship Games than any other coach, Saban has been the coach in Tuscaloosa since 2007.
“The University of Alabama has been a very special place to Terry and me,” Saban said in a statement released by Alabama. “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 consider Alabama our home.”
The Action Network’s Brett McMurphy reported that Oregon coach Dan Lanning is "expected to be (a) top target to replace Saban." ESPN's Pete Thamel gave a "quick projected target list" that included Lanning, Washington's Kalen DeBoer, Clemson's Dabo Swinney, Penn State James Franklin, Florida State's Mike Norvell and Notre Dame's Marcus Freeman.
One tied-in Clemson insider tell Dawg Post that they are skeptical Swinney would wind up at Alabama.
"Four years ago different conversation," that insider said. "Not saying it’s impossible, but I'm not sure (Dabo) wants it, and don’t think Bama wants it."