Nick Saban retires: National reaction after Alabama coach's bombshell decision

The GOAT is gone: Alabama football coach Nick Saban walks away from football

The decision that had to come someday has finally arrived as Alabama head football coach Nick Saban will retire from coaching, ending a run of dominance that college football has rarely seen from one coach or program in its century-plus history, according to multiple reports.

Saban's seven national championships, one at LSU (2003) and six at Alabama (2009, 2011-12, 2015, 2017, 2020), equaling Paul "Bear" Bryant's total with the Crimson Tide, are the most all time among coaches in college football's 155-year history.

Saban told his team of his intention to retire from football on Wednesday, according to reports. Here are some of the national reactions to the bombshell decision.

Nick Saban retires: College football reacts

One of the greatest runs in college football history is over. Nick Saban informed his team today that he's retiring, sources tell ESPN. He won six national championships at Alabama and one at LSU.

— Chris Low (@ClowESPN) January 10, 2024

The tweet that made college football history, broadcasting to the world that Nick Saban intends to retire from football.

You never say never in sports but man, it’s hard to imagine ever seeing a run like Saban’s again.

— 💫🅰️♈️🆔 (@ADavidHaleJoint) January 10, 2024

It's difficult to imagine any other head coach exerting the kind of dominance over college football that Saban was able to, especially in the era of NIL and the transfer portal.

Nick Saban Career Overview:

🐐 292 Career Wins
🐐 7 National Championships
🐐 11 SEC Championships
🐐 2X Coach of the Year

What a career👏 pic.twitter.com/5w6qZLTfy2

— PFF College (@PFF_College) January 10, 2024

No other coach exemplified excellence in modern college football history than Saban, whose success inspired other schools to imitate it by hiring his assistants, but no others could match with his Alabama teams did on the gridiron.

He was the greatest to ever do it

— Ari Wasserman (@AriWasserman) January 10, 2024

The history of college football is littered with brilliant head coaches who revolutionized the game over the decades, but maybe no other single individual exerted as much dominance over the sport when it was most difficult to do so.

My favorite Nick Saban stat:

Even if you exclude Alabama’s 6 national title-winning seasons under Saban, the Tide still have the best overall win pct in the FBS since the start of the 2009 season (.864).

— Jason Starrett (@starrettjason) January 10, 2024

Saban's teams won so much that they would still be the most dominant in recent years... even if you take out the national championship teams.

Someone out there is going to compile the draft picks and money earned by Nick Saban players. And that number is going to be staggering.

— Zach Barnett (@zach_barnett) January 10, 2024

With all that success comes a ton of talent shipped off to the NFL. Saban holds a college football record with 49 first-round NFL Draft picks and 44 first-round selections from a single school.

Saban is the best to ever do it. Understood you are nothing without recruiting, got the best players on planet earth, made them earn their place, taught them better technique than anyone in football then waved goodbye to them after 3 years to go make 50M and then pressed repeat.

— Kevin Clark (@bykevinclark) January 10, 2024

The foundation of Saban's and Alabama's success has always started with talent acquisition. His teams always dominated the yearly recruiting rankings and once in his system, those prospects usually found their way to the National Football League.

Something interesting to watch re: Alabama and Saban retiring.

Recruits who signed a national letter of intent can be released from the NLI if they haven't triggered attendance yet.

Other players on the roster will have a 30-day transfer window now that Saban is retiring.

— Tom VanHaaren (@TomVH) January 10, 2024

Something else on the recruiting front to watch as players have a decision to make with the Crimson Tide undergoing a coaching change.

Transfer portal window for Alabama players is now open for another 30 days with Nick Saban's retirement. Most attractive roster in the sport, too.

— Chris Hummer (@chris_hummer) January 10, 2024

Same goes for players who may want to transfer out of the program now, since the coaching change allows them to enter the portal despite it closing last week.

🐐 pic.twitter.com/ZSs5zM6PiE

— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) January 10, 2024

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