Nick Saban is undoubtedly one of the greatest college football coaches the game has ever seen. Not only did he maintain an unbreakable standard at Alabama in terms of national championships and SEC titles, but his mindset about keeping the game of football about the sport and not money was also one of the key factors in his leadership.
After losing the 2024 college football national championship game against Michigan in a 26-20 matchup, Saban announced his decision to retire after heading the Crimson Tide for 17 years.
Saban later shared that a majority of the decision to retire was based on the fact that he didn’t like the way players acted after the loss, like throwing their helmets on the ground and also how the NIL and transfer portal impacted players’ mindsets.
Talking about how Saban’s retirement affected college football during his appearance on “Bussin With The Boys,” Josh Pate said:
“You could have some validity there; I don’t doubt that. But the point remains, if the NIL thing never changed and Saban retired, that would have fundamentally changed the SEC and college football. It just so happens that a lot of that stuff overlapped. Somebody could also come at me and say, ‘Hey man, the expanded playoff, that’s what’s changed everything.’ No, it hasn’t. Nick Saban retiring was a bombshell. It was like an asteroid into the ocean of college football.” (1:00)
“So, you either believe the guy was the greatest of all time and acknowledge what I’m saying has to be true, or you think he was a fraud, because you can’t think he was the greatest of all time but not acknowledge his retirement had to be a huge, monumental change to the sport,” he added.
Nick Saban Gets Real About Greg McElroy’s Claims About His CFB Return
The college football world jumped with joy for a minute when college football analyst Greg McElroy teased the rumor of Nick Saban coming back from retirement.
Various analysts and insiders started predicting Nick Saban’s next destination, including Colin Cowherd who believed the ex Alabama head coach won’t come back to college and will take a job in the NFL instead, boldly predicting a union with Arch Manning at the Cleveland Browns.
Weighing in on the whole situation, Saban gave a hilarious response during his appearance at the Nick Saban Legacy Awards in Birmingham, Alabama on Monday, Aug, 18.
“I don’t know where that came from,” the 73-year-old Saban said. “Greg McElroy played quarterback for us and if he had done something like that when he was a player, he would have gotten his (expletive) kicked.”
Saban retired with a total of seven national championships, 11 SEC titles and various other achievements under his belt.
Related:
Nick Saban’s Daughter Kristen Has 4-Word Demand From $2.7M NIL-Valued Alabama WR Ryan Williams
