Alabama coach Nick Saban retiring after winning seven national titles, according to multiple outlets

alabama coach nick saban retiring after winning seven national titles, according to multiple outlets

FILE – Alabama head coach Nick Saban leaves the field after the Southeastern Conference championship NCAA college football game between Georgia and Alabama, Saturday, Dec. 4, 2021, in Atlanta. Nick Saban, the stern coach who won seven national championships and turned Alabama back into a national powerhouse that included six of those titles in just 17 seasons, is retiring, according to multiple reports, Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/John Bazemore, File)

Nick Saban’s coaching reign has come to an end. His dominance over college football, however, will forever linger in the lore of the sport.

Saban, who won seven national championships — more than any other major college football coach — and turned Alabama back into a national powerhouse with six of those titles in just 17 seasons, is retiring, according to multiple outlets.

The 72-year-old Saban restored a Crimson Tide program once ruled by Paul “Bear” Bryant to the top of college football after taking over in 2007. His decision to step away was reported Wednesday, first by ESPN and then by other outlets, ending a career that has produced numerous titles and helped launch or relaunch the head coaching careers of Georgia’s Kirby Smith, Texas’ Steve Sarkisian and Mississippi’s Lane Kiffin.

alabama coach nick saban retiring after winning seven national titles, according to multiple outlets

FILE -Alabama head coach Nick Saban and offensive lineman Alex Leatherwood hold the trophy after their win against Ohio State in an NCAA College Football Playoff national championship game, Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2021, in Miami Gardens, Fla. Nick Saban, the stern coach who won seven national championships and turned Alabama back into a national powerhouse that included six of those titles in just 17 seasons, is retiring, according to multiple reports, Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara, File)

He finished just shy of the top in his final season, leading the Tide from a shaky start to a Southeastern Conference championship and back into the College Football Playoff before falling in overtime to Michigan in a semifinal game at the Rose Bowl.

alabama coach nick saban retiring after winning seven national titles, according to multiple outlets

FILE – Alabama head coach Nick Saban leaves the field after their win against Ohio State in an NCAA College Football Playoff national championship game, Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2021, in Miami Gardens, Fla. Nick Saban, the stern coach who won seven national championships and turned Alabama back into a national powerhouse that included six of those titles in just 17 seasons, is retiring, according to multiple reports, Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File)

Saban led the Tide to nine Southeastern Conference championships and won his first national title at Alabama with a 14-0 season in 2009. Titles came again in 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017 and 2020. He also won the SEC with LSU in 2001 and 2003.

Colorado coach Deion Sanders, who has appeared with Saban in a series of commercials, had a strong reaction to both the Alabama coach’s retirement and the state of college football.

alabama coach nick saban retiring after winning seven national titles, according to multiple outlets

Alabama head coach Nick Saban argues a call during the first half in the Rose Bowl CFP NCAA semifinal college football game against Michigan, Monday, Jan. 1, 2024, in Pasadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

“WOW! College Football just lost the GOAT to retirement,” Sanders posted on X. “WOW! I knew it would happen 1 day soon but not this soon. The game has change so much that it chased the GOAT away. College football let’s hold up our mirrors and say HONESTLY what u see.”

alabama coach nick saban retiring after winning seven national titles, according to multiple outlets

Alabama head coach Nick Saban reacts after running back Jase McClellan (2) scored a touchdown during the second half of the Rose Bowl CFP NCAA semifinal college football game against Michigan Monday, Jan. 1, 2024, in Pasadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

Saban made a two-year foray into the NFL with the Miami Dolphins before returning to college football to revive one of college football’s most storied programs, which hadn’t won a national title in 15 years. Saban is 297-71-1 as a college head coach, with stops at Toledo, Michigan State and LSU, where he also won a national title. But Alabama is where he cemented his status as one of college football’s greatest coaches.

Saban coached Alabama’s first four Heisman Trophy winners and churned out numerous NFL players, going 206-29, a winning clip of 87.7%. His teams produced 44 first-round draft picks, including last year’s No. 1 quarterback Bryce Young.

During that span, he also adapted to the changing times of up-tempo offenses, churning out high-scoring teams after winning with some of the nation’s best defenses, along with the new NIL and transfer rules.

He led Toledo to a Mid-American Conference championship in 1990, his lone season as that program’s head coach. Saban worked as Bill Belichick’s defensive coordinator with the NFL’s Cleveland Browns for four seasons before becoming the first Michigan State coach to lead his first three teams to bowl games and then taking LSU to the 2003 national title.

alabama coach nick saban retiring after winning seven national titles, according to multiple outlets

Alabama head coach Nick Saban leads his team on to the field before the Rose Bowl CFP NCAA semifinal college football game against Michigan, Monday, Jan. 1, 2024, in Pasadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

His latest team dealt with plenty of adversity early on, including a loss to Texas, but rebounded with the emergence of quarterback Jalen Milroe to upset then-No. 1 Georgia in the SEC championship game.

Saban didn’t sound like a coach looking to give up the job any time soon after the game. But it wasn’t a bad way to go, even without the title.

“This is one of the most amazing seasons in Alabama football history in terms of where this team came from, what they were able to accomplish and what they were able to do, winning the SEC championship, and really, really proud of this group,” he said.

“I just wish that I could have done more as a coach to help them be successful and help them finish, and all we can do now is learn from the lessons that sometimes failings bring to us.”

___

AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football

alabama coach nick saban retiring after winning seven national titles, according to multiple outlets

FILE – Alabama head coach Nick Saban speaks during NCAA college football Southeastern Conference Media Days, Wednesday, July 19, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn. Nick Saban, the stern coach who won seven national championships and turned Alabama back into a national powerhouse that included six of those titles in just 17 seasons, is retiring, according to multiple reports, Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/George Walker IV, File)

alabama coach nick saban retiring after winning seven national titles, according to multiple outlets

FILE – LSU coach Nick Saban throws passes to his defensive backs during practice at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans on Thursday, Jan. 1, 2004. Nick Saban is retiring after leading Alabama to six national titles in 17 seasons and winning another at LSU, Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Dave Martin, File)

alabama coach nick saban retiring after winning seven national titles, according to multiple outlets

FILE – In this Sept. 11, 2004, file photo, LSU coach Nick Saban encourages his players before an NCAA college football game against Arkansas State in Baton Rouge, La. Nick Saban is retiring after leading Alabama to six national titles in 17 seasons and winning another at LSU, Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Patrick Dennis, File)

alabama coach nick saban retiring after winning seven national titles, according to multiple outlets

FILE – Alabama coach Nick Saban watches players warm up for the College Football Playoff championship NCAA football game against Georgia on Jan. 10, 2022, in Indianapolis. Nick Saban, the stern coach who won seven national championships and turned Alabama back into a national powerhouse that included six of those titles in just 17 seasons, is retiring, according to multiple reports, Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)

alabama coach nick saban retiring after winning seven national titles, according to multiple outlets

FILE – Alabama head coach Nick Saban reacts after running back Jase McClellan (2) scored a touchdown during the second half of the Rose Bowl CFP NCAA semifinal college football game against Michigan Monday, Jan. 1, 2024, in Pasadena, Calif. Nick Saban, the stern coach who won seven national championships and turned Alabama back into a national powerhouse that included six of those titles in just 17 seasons, is retiring, according to multiple reports, Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong, File)

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