College Football HQ

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

The GOAT is gone: Alabama football coach Nick Saban walks away from football
James Parks|
Nick Saban retires: National reaction after Alabama coach's bombshell decision
Nick Saban retires: National reaction after Alabama coach's bombshell decision

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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James Parks
JAMES PARKS

James Parks is the founder and publisher of College Football HQ. He has covered football for a decade, previously managing several team sites and publishing national content for 247Sports.com for five years. His work has also been published on CBSSports.com. He founded College Football HQ in 2020, and the site joined the Sports Illustrated Fannation Network in 2022 and the On SI network in 2024.

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