Nick Saban Retiring As Alabama Football Coach

Topline

Alabama football head coach Nick Saban is retiring from his post after 17 seasons with the Crimson Tide, multiple outlets reported Wednesday, citing unnamed sources, following a coaching career widely regarded among the greatest in college football history.

Head Coach Nick Saban spent 17 years at the helm of the Crimson Tide and led the team to six … [+] national championships. (Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images)

Getty Images

Key Facts

Saban, 72, arrived at Alabama in 2007 and led the football team to six national championships.

Along with his six championships at Alabama, Saban had two undefeated teams, won the SEC West 10 times and won the SEC Championship nine times, according to Tuscaloosa News.

Prior to Alabama, Saban was a head coach for the Miami Dolphins, LSU and Michigan State University.

Saban also won a national championship at LSU in the 2003 season—his seven national titles between Alabama and LSU are the most in college football history.

Big Number

$93.6 million. That’s how much Saban’s last contract, which was expected to run from 2022 through the 2029 season, was worth, according to The Tennessean. He reportedly made $11.41 million this past season, making him the highest-paid coach in college football.

Surprising Fact

Saban told ESPN in November that he wasn’t quite ready to retire. “I’ve always said that if you’re thinking about retirement, you’re probably already retired, and I’m not there yet,” Saban said.

Key Background

Throughout his college coaching career, Saban went 292-71-1 over 28 seasons. At Alabama alone, he coached four Heisman Trophy winners and 44 NFL first round draft picks. The West Virginia native worked his way up in the coaching ranks throughout the 1970s and 1980s, working at a number of universities as a grad assistant, then position coach, then defensive coordinator before getting his first gig as a head coach in 1990 at the University of Toledo. Saban also had brief stints in the NFL, most notably as the Dolphins head coach in 2005 in 2006, while he was a defensive coordinator under head coach Bill Belichick with the Cleveland Browns from 1991 through 1994 and was a position coach for the Houston Oilers in 1988 and 1989.