Making for one of the fastest-spreading news stories of this generation, legendary college football coach Nick Saban has retired.
First reported by ESPN’s Chris Low, Saban informed his team on Wednesday afternoon that he was stepping away after five decades in coaching.
Nick Saban is retiring, sources tell ESPN. He won six national titles at Alabama.
— Chris Low (@ClowESPN) January 10, 2024
Saban, 72, spent 17 seasons at Alabama where he won six national championships while building one of the best programs in college football history. Most recently, he led the Crimson Tide to the College Football Playoff for the eighth time in the format’s 10-year history. The team fell to eventual national champion Michigan in the Rose Bowl.
Before taking the job in Tuscaloosa, Saban gave the NFL one last run when he coached the Miami Dolphins for two seasons from 2005-06 after a successful five-year run at LSU that included his first national championship. The early stages of his career as a head coach included stops at Toledo (1990) and Michigan State (1995-99). He served as defensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns in between his first two head coaching gigs.
Saban’s national championships came in 2003, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017, and 2020.
Obviously, Saban had success against most to all teams he went up against but especially here in Mississippi. Against Ole Miss during his time at Alabama and LSU, he went a combined 18-3. Against Mississippi State, he owns an even better record of 21-1. Against Southern Miss, he went 3-0.
“I’m extremely grateful to Coach Saban and our time together and most importantly, him giving me an opportunity to learn from him,” current Ole Miss head coach and former Alabama assistant Lane Kiffin said at SEC Media Days last summer. “I mean he’s the best to ever do it. I’ve said it before. I really do believe he is the best coach to ever do it.”
Where does Alabama go from here?
While fans across Mississippi naturally have suspicions that Alabama might try to poach Lane Kiffin, many close to the situation in Tuscaloosa believe Kiffin is more of a backup option. According to Jim Dunaway of The Next Round, Oregon’s Dan Lanning is option A.
“I am being told by someone very reliable that they believe Dan Lanning would be the first person to have the opportunity to say no to this job,” Dunaway said. “So much so that there is some belief that Dan Lanning may be in Tuscaloosa either as we speak or before the night is over.”
“I am being told, by someone very reliable, that Dan Lanning will be the first person that would have the opportunity to say no to this job.
There is some believe that Dan Lanning may be in Tuscaloosa either as we speak or before the night is over…”@AlabamaFTBL… pic.twitter.com/LVPR9Uw00n
— The Next Round (@NextRoundLive) January 10, 2024
Lanning, a former Alabama assistant who served as defensive coordinator at Georgia before accepting the job at Oregon, has a 22-5 overall record in two seasons in Eugene. Other early coaching candidates for the Alabama job are Texas’ Steve Sarkisian, Florida State’s Mike Norvell, Clemson’s Dabo Swinney, and Washington’s Kalen DeBoer.
