Nick Saban Retires as Coach at Alabama After 17 Years

Nick Saban Retires from Alabama After 17 Years

Alabama's Tuscaloosa - Nick Saban, the head football coach at Alabama and the current all-time leader in college football titles won, announced his retirement on Wednesday.

"The University of Alabama has been a very special place to me," says Saban. Being a member of the Tuscaloosa community and serving as head coach at Alabama for 17 years has been an incredible experience. What matters most is not the final score but rather the legacy we leave behind and the way we achieved it. We made every effort to do things correctly. As a program, our primary objective has always been to assist players in building lasting value, reaching their full athletic and personal potential, and achieving greater success in all aspects of life. With any luck, we have accomplished it, and Alabama will be our home forever.

After taking over at Toledo in 1990, Saban coached at Michigan State from 1995 to 1999, LSU from 2000 to 2004, and Alabama from 2007 to 23. He coached for 28 years total. He began his 28-year reign with a national title in 2003 at LSU and went on to win six more at Alabama (2009, 2011–2012, 2015, 2017, and 2020). Additionally, from 2005 to 2006, he was the head coach of the Miami Dolphins.

"Simply put, Nick Saban is one of the greatest coaches of all time, in any sport, and The University of Alabama is fortunate to have had him leading our football program for the past 17 seasons," said Greg Byrne, the Alabama Athletics Director. He has coached to 312 victories, seven national titles, eleven conference titles, and the development of a record 49 first-round NFL draft picks—and, most significantly, hundreds of college graduates—during his head coaching career. He has an effect well beyond the football field as an exemplary leader, mentor, and coach.

Through their work with the Nick's Kids Foundation, Coach Saban and Ms. Terry have had a profound impact on numerous lives in the community and around Alabama. His tenure as our coach may have ended, but his impact will endure in perpetuity. The Saban Nick's Kids Foundation has donated over $12 million to more than 150 charities in Tuscaloosa since Nick and Terry's arrival, benefiting students, teachers, and children's causes. It has been a privilege to observe one of the greatest to ever do it from the front row. Coach Saban has had an extraordinary career, his teams went 3–0 in national titles during the Bowl Championship Series period and 3–0 when the College Football Playoff began. Saban qualified his Crimson Tide teams eight times in the 10 seasons of the CFP.

"Words cannot adequately express appreciations to Coach Saban for his exemplary leadership and service to The University of Alabama over the past 17 years," stated President Stuart R. Bell of Alabama. On and off the field, his dedication to greatness has served as an example for the rest of our program. His influence on our student-athletes has been profound, and we are thankful for the wonderful experiences his teams have given our current and former students, as well as their friends and supporters, to cherish forever. "Coach Saban and Ms. Terry are tremendous ambassadors for The University of Alabama and our community and we celebrate their many contributions and indelible legacy."

In his time as a college coach, Saban went 297-71-1 (.806), with 206-29 (.877) in Tuscaloosa. With an 11-1 record in SEC Championship Games, his teams won a total of eleven titles. He had nine victories at Alabama (9-1) and two at LSU (2-0). For the 2005–06 season, he was a key contributor to the Dolphins' 15 victories.

The Crimson Tide have an overall record of 37-15 against top-10 teams since 2008 under Saban's coaching. His six national title seasons at Alabama included a 21-2 record against top-10 opponents. Additionally, from 2008 to 22, Alabama shattered the record of seven years held by Miami (1986–1992) by being ranked first in the Associated Press Poll for at least one week.

Saban is tied with Frank Leahy of Notre Dame for the most Heisman Trophy winners in college football history with four. Heisman Trophy winners at running back, wide receiver, and quarterback have never been coached by anybody else. Saban took over a team that had only six individual national award winners in 2008; since then, the Crimson Tide have amassed sixty.

During his 16 years at the helm at Alabama, 58 different players have garnered 66 All-America awards. Among the 46 players who have received consensus accolades and 25 who have been chosen unanimously, eight have been named two-time All-Americans. Being named an All-American without a single vote was a first for Alabama, and it happened to Will Anderson Jr.

A record 49 of Saban's players were selected in the first round of the NFL draft, with 44 of those players hailing from Alabama. He has amassed over $2 billion in salary for his Alabama players over the past 16 NFL seasons.

For the last 17 years, the Crimson Tide have enjoyed academic and athletic success simultaneously. A total of 656 degrees, including 103 master's degrees, have been obtained by Alabama football since Saban's arrival in 2007.