Saban's seven titles are the most by any coach in college football history
It's the end of an era in Tuscaloosa and in college football.
Head coach Nick Saban is retiring, sources told Fox Sports.
Saban won six national championships with Alabama and one with LSU. His seven titles are the most by any coach in college football history.
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Nick Saban of the Alabama Crimson Tide runs onto the field during team introductions prior to the SEC championship game against the Georgia Bulldogs at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Dec. 2, 2023. (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
"The University of Alabama has been a very special place to Terry and me," Saban said in a statement. "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."
This year's Crimson Tide went 12-2 after making the College Football Playoff with an upset victory over top-ranked Georgia in the SEC championship. Bama earned the No. 4 seed in the CFP but lost to No. 1 Michigan, the eventual national champion, in the Rose Bowl on New Year's Day.
Saban, 72, had coached Alabama since 2007.
Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban celebrates after the SEC championship game against the Georgia Bulldogs at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Dec. 2, 2023. (Jeffrey Vest/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Saban’s first head coaching gig came in 1990, when he led Toledo for a season. He then spent four years as the Cleveland Browns' defensive coordinator before coaching Michigan State, from 1995 to 1999, and then LSU, from 2000 to 2004.
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Before joining Alabama, Saban coached the Miami Dolphins in 2005 and 2006. That was his last job in the NFL.
Before Toledo, he had defensive coaching stints at Kent State, Syracuse, West Virginia, Ohio State, Navy and Michigan State and with the Houston Oilers. Saban played at Kent State as a defensive back.
Head coach Nick Saban of the Alabama Crimson Tide speaks during 2023 SEC Media Days at Grand Hyatt Nashville in Nashville, Tennessee, on July 19, 2023. (Johnnie Izquierdo/Getty Images)
Saban boasts an all-time record of 292-71-1 at the college level, including a 19-12 record in bowl games and a 9-5 record in the College Football Playoff. At Alabama, he went 206-29.
Nine of Saban's 11 SEC titles came with the Crimson Tide.
His 292 wins are the fifth-most in Division I history.
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