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The Tuscaloosa News
Nick Saban retires as Alabama football coach after historic, unparalleled career
- Story byThe Tuscaloosa News
- Nick Saban retires as Alabama football coach after historic, unparalleled career
Nick Saban is retiring.
The four words Alabama football fans have never wanted to hear ― and every other college football supporter has badly sought for years ― are real. No one can escape time, but as Saban continued to win for 17 seasons and added national championships across eras, he almost seemed like he might be the exception. The question of when he would finally call it a career always permeated college football discourse, yet Saban kept going.
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Even the greatest of dynasties end eventually, though. Saban is retiring, sources tell The Tuscaloosa News. Saban, 72, informed the team Wednesday.
MORE: Relive Nick Saban's epic Alabama football coaching career with our special book!
The Fairmont, West Virginia , native won six national championships after arriving in 2007, tied with Paul "Bear" Bryant for the most in Alabama history. Saban's career ends with seven total, including one with LSU . No other coach has won more in the history of college football.
Twice, Saban's Alabama teams finished undefeated: 2009 and 2020. Ten times, the Crimson Tide has won the SEC West. Nine times, Alabama has won the SEC Championship Game.
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That's right — More than half of the years Saban has been in Tuscaloosa, he brought home the conference title. In ten years of the College Football Playoff, Alabama has only missed it twice.
Along the way, Saban has produced 44 first-round draft picks at Alabama. No other coach is even close.
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Saban spent about a half century in the coaching profession. He started as a grad assistant at Kent State, his alma mater. He worked as a position coach at Kent State, Syracuse, West Virginia and Navy before he became defensive coordinator for Michigan State in the late 1980s. After coaching defensive backs for the Houston Oilers for two seasons, Saban got his first head coaching opportunity with Toledo in 1990. Outside of three years as the Cleveland Browns defensive coordinator, the rest of Saban's career was spent as a head coach. He went from Michigan State (1995-99) to LSU (2000-04) and the Miami Dolphins (2005-06) before 17 seasons with the Crimson Tide.
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He has won numerous accolades, including the Paul "Bear" Bryant coach of the year award twice. He's also been the AP, Walter Camp and Eddie Robinson coach of the year twice, among other coach of the year awards that he has won once. Saban has received five SEC coach of the year awards, too.
The ability to change has been Saban's key ingredient in Tuscaloosa. Although he was a stickler for consistency and a creature of habit, he remained at the top because he was willing to adapt.
When the hurry-up, no-huddle offenses arrived, the type of defenses that helped Saban win early weren't going to work anymore. Neither was the old ground-and-pound offense. So, Saban adapted, and Alabama won with a different style. He brought in Lane Kiffin to transition to the forward-thinking spread attack. Each coordinator Saban added after Kiffin brought new concepts from there. In the process, Alabama became a place where it made sense for top quarterbacks to play.
Saban's impact on Alabama goes past football. He made his mark on the Tuscaloosa community in 2011 after an EF4 tornado devastated the city. In response, Saban visited relief centers unannounced to show gratitude and spoke to search and rescue teams. Then, he and his wife Terry funded 13 homes, one for each national championship at Alabama. The tradition has continued since, partnering with Habitat for Humanity and others to continue building homes for each title, plus more.
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As the dynasty grew, so, too, did the city.
From 2010 to 2020, the Tuscaloosa population increased by about 10,000. Student enrollment at UA also grew by more than 10,000 since Saban arrived in 2007.
The economic impact of Saban's presence and success on the field has been tangible in the city of Tuscaloosa, too. Mayor Walt Maddox has made reference to "Sabanomics. " As of 2021, the University of Alabama's Center for Business & Economic Research's latest data showed each UA home game has brought in $26.2 million for the state and $19.5 million for the local economy.
In 2004-05, each game brought in about $12.7 million to the local economy.
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"Coach Saban is perhaps, if not the best single investment the university has made, he is one of the best," said Robert E. Witt, professor and president emeritus at the University of Alabama. "It's not just that coach Saban has been successful, it's the way he's been successful. He has never once brought this university's integrity or honor or values in to question."
Nick Kelly is the Alabama beat writer for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network, and he covers Alabama football and men's basketball. Reach him at nkelly@gannett.com or follow him @_NickKelly on X, the social media app formerly known as Twitter.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Nick Saban retires: Alabama football coach calls it a career
