Brent Key Shares His Reaction to Finding Out Nick Saban Retired At Alabama

Key coached the offensive line at Alabama from 2016-2018

Before returning to his alma mater to be the offensive line coach in 2019, Brent Key was the offensive line coach at the most dominant program in college football. 

Key was the offensive line coach at Alabama from 2016-2018 under Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide played for the national championship each year that Key was there, winning it in 2017 over Georgia. Yesterday, the entire college football world was stunned when it was announced that Alabama head coach Nick Saban was deciding to retire. He has been the head coach at Alabama since 2007. 

When doing a radio appearance on 680 the Fan earlier today, Key shared his reaction to finding out about his former boss deciding to retire: 

"I was flying back from the convention and I was in the air and it just happens that we are on a place that does not have wifi of course and I hit one of those spots where service kicks in and I had about 20 text messages pop up that said, there it is, its done, can you believe it, and all of this stuff and I am like what in the world is going on and other people are wondering the same thing and that is how we got the news and we landed and I got home last night and Danielle had it on the TV recapping it and what not and this morning it kind of hit me when they were talking about it and it hit me that Nick had retired and it kind of started to settle in."

Nick Saban retired as the head coach of Alabama yesterday / Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Key was also asked about how surprised he was: 

"I don't think anyone was surprised when he said he was going to do it, just like I don't think anyone would have been surprised that he was going to keep coaching, it was just one of those things that when it happened, it was going to happen. I think more of a reflection and look back at what type of career he has had, and what he has been able to accomplish, you can argue about it, I would say he is the greatest coach of all time and how he has been able to do it and not just the people that he has affected on the football field and in the coaching world, but the amount of young men he has been able to change their lives and allow a better future for them."

While on the show, Key did give an update on when he hopes to complete his defensive staff:

"Yeah, I would not say that it is fluid, I would say it is not like water it is more like a slow can of oil just kind of dripping out... We are really settling in to what we want to do and I am excited about the staff that we are putting together, here in the next few days, we should have everything completed. I have taken my time in this thing to really get this thing right and make sure these kids have the best opportunity to win and play really good football."

Brent Key Shares Update On When He Hopes to Complete His Defensive Staff

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