Alabama's Nick Saban Announces Retirement After 17 Seasons

TUSCALOOSA, AL — It's the end of an era in Tuscaloosa.

Alabama head football coach Nick Saban is retiring after 17 seasons, according to a report first published by ESPN's Chris Low on Wednesday, who said the legendary head coach had just informed the team of his decision.

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"The University of Alabama has been a very special place to Terry and me," Saban said in a statement released by the university Wednesday. "We have enjoyed every minute of our 17 years being the head coach at Alabama as well as becoming a part of the Tuscaloosa community. It is not just about how many games we won and lost, but it's about the legacy and how we went about it. We always tried to do it the right way. The goal was always to help players create more value for their future, be the best player they could be and be more successful in life because they were part of the program. Hopefully, we have done that, and we will always consider Alabama our home."

The shocking news comes after Alabama's loss in the College Football Playoff semifinal to eventual national champion Michigan on New Year's Day.

"Simply put, Nick Saban is one of the greatest coaches of all time, in any sport, and The University of Alabama is fortunate to have had him leading our football program for the past 17 seasons," Alabama Director of Athletics Greg Byrne said. "Throughout his career as a head coach, his teams have won seven national championships, 11 conference championships and 312 games, and he's developed an NCAA-record 49 NFL first-round draft picks and, most importantly, hundreds of college graduates. He is the consummate coach, mentor and leader, and his impact is felt far beyond the football field."

With a collegiate coaching record of 292–71–1, Saban has been lauded as the greatest active college football head coach with his seven national championships.

Of those titles, six were won since becoming the Crimson Tide's head coach in 2007 — with one at LSU in 2003 and the most recent for Alabama being in 2020.

During his collegiate coaching career, the 72-year-old from Fairmont, West Virginia, also amassed 11 Southeastern Conference titles.

While falling short of catching legendary Tide coach Paul W. "Bear" Bryant's all-time coaching record of 323–85–17, he did manage to top Bryant's six national championships.

This is a developing story. Tuscaloosa Patch will have more information as it comes available.