Even on his first day of retirement after an illustrious coaching career, Nick Saba prioritised the team.n
He wasn’t planning a vacation, playing golf, or even staying up an additional hour to sleep. He was driving to the office, as he had done every other morning for the previous 17 years as Alabama’s football coach, and he was usually there by 7:20 a.m. at the latest.
“I want to be there for the players, for the coaches, anything I can do to support them during this transition,” Saban said to ESPN in his first public remarks since announcing his retirement on Wednesday. The announcement stunned even the most devoted fans of the Alabama programme and sent shockwaves through the sports world.
“As we proceed, there are numerous things to tidy up and assist with. I will continue to be involved in some capacity here at the institution as I try to understand everything. This location will always hold a special place in Miss Terry’s and my hearts.”
On Wednesday, at a 4 p.m. team room meeting, Saban announced his retirement to his players and staff. In a brief meeting that lasted less than ten minutes, Saban expressed how essential it was to him that they receive the news first.
Six national titles at Alabama and another at LSU were won by coach Nick Saban. “I wanted them to know how much they meant to me,” Saban remarked. It was difficult in every way. It’s been difficult these past several days.
Look, though, it’s similar to what I told the players. I felt that, whether it was in recruiting or hiring coaches, now that we have people leaving, the same old issue always sort of came up — how long are you going to do this for?— and I was going to go in there and ask them to get 100 percent committed to coming back and trying to win a championship.” However, I’ve always said that I didn’t want to ride the programme down.”
Head athletic trainer at Alabama and Saban’s partner for the past 17 years is Jeff Allen. coach is the final member of the football staff that Saban hired from outside the organisation when coach took over at Alabama in 2007. On Thursday, Allen became quite emotional, even bringing up Saban’s retirement.
“This is one of those days you knew was going to come, but when it does, you’re still somewhat in shock that it finally has come,” Allen stated. “We’ve been able to absorb everything because of the way he’s handled it, but I wouldn’t say it was a grieving process because he’s still with us. He wants to remain a part of this place, which is why he is in the workplace today.
Being with him this morning and listening to him discuss how crucial it was for Alabama to maintain its success made the experience very memorable for me. For all of us who are here, adore this area, and want to see what he’s created flourish, that means the world.”
Saban, 72, claimed that as he grew older, it became more challenging for him to complete the task as he believed it should be completed. He reaffirmed on Thursday what he had said to ESPN last month—that managing 14-hour days at 72 was far more difficult than it was at 62.
“Last season was difficult for me from just a health standpoint, not necessarily having anything major wrong, but just being able to sustain and do things the way I want to do them, the way I’ve always done them,” Saban stated. It has become slightly more difficult. At some point, when you reach my age, you will have to accept that this is sort of unavoidable.”
In addition, Saban stated that continuing to claim he would stay at Alabama for four or five more years would have been unfair to everyone.
“Which I would have been happy to try to do, but I just didn’t feel like I could do that and didn’t want to get into a year-to-year deal that doesn’t help anybody and doesn’t help you continue to build and be at the standard that I want to be at and want this programme to be at,” Saban stated.
Saban never gave any thought to reducing his status as head coach or taking on more of a CEO role. He is well known for being actively involved in every aspect of his programme. He claimed that after returning from a visit to his Florida home with his wife Terry last weekend, he made up his mind to retire.
Tuesday and Wednesday were still spent by Saban conducting Zoom interviews with prospective assistant coaches. To be exact, he spent approximately an hour discussing his retirement with a possible receivers coach before announcing it to the club.
Saban explained, “It’s how I’ve always done things.” “You never stop working until it’s time to give up. I believe that you will never be as successful if you stop doing what you’ve always done. And that’s basically it. I was aware that the time had come.”
Over the past few years, Saban has voiced his disgust at the lack of consistency in college football, citing in particular the way that NIL is being used as a cover for pay-for-play, the transfer portal, and all the manipulation that has taken place when players transfer schools.
However, Saban insisted that his departure had nothing to do with the way college football was evolving.
“It shouldn’t be about that. That’s not the point,” Saban remarked. “In my opinion, you don’t have to be whining about all that stuff if you decide to coach. You must learn to live with it, make the most of the situation as it presents itself, and stop whining. I believe that everyone is now annoyed by it.
On Wednesday, we held a conference call with 14 coaches from the SEC, and not a single one of them could truly comprehend the current state of college football and not believe that it’s a problem.
“But that’s not the point of [his resignation]. After three years, we have successfully adapted to this new period and emerged victorious. Simply put, I’ve always understood when it would be appropriate to hand it over to someone else, and that moment is now.”
With the possible exception of the open week, Saban, who enjoys playing golf, has made it a point to never play throughout the season. In 2016, he hit his first hole-in-one at the open date before to the LSU match. Now that he’s retired, Saban pushed back on the assumption that he’d be able to reduce his handicap down under 5.
