The Auburn Tigers and Nick Saban’s Alabama Crimson Tide have had one of the biggest rivalries in college football for a long, long time.
Recently, Saban and the Crimson Tide have gotten the better of Auburn, and just about everyone else in the SEC for that matter, minus a few select recent cases where Georgia took the crown.
Since Saban took over The Alabama football program in 2007, he’s become arguably the greatest college football coach of all time. He’s won 11 of the 6 “Iron Bowl” matchups, which is the nickname for the annual game between the Alabama Crimson Tide and Auburn Tigers.
On Wednesday night, the Alabama head coach stunned the college football world announcing his retirement.
Saban, 72, led Alabama to three national titles in the BCS era and three in the College Football Playoff era. He led the Crimson Tide back to the playoff this year, though they fell to Michigan in the Rose Bowl.
Nick Saban got his college coaching start at Toledo, where he spent one season in 1990. He then spent five seasons at Michigan State and another five at LSU, winning his first national championship in 2003. He briefly jumped to the NFL and led the Miami Dolphins for two seasons before he landed at Alabama ahead of the 2007 season.
In total, Saban compiled a career college record of 292-71-1. Assuming he doesn’t unretire, he’ll finish at No. 5 on the all-time wins list, 112 wins behind all-time leader Joe Paterno. While the Auburn Tigers seem to be ascending with new head coach Hugh Freeze, they are likely breathing a sigh of relief Saban is stepping away.
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 athletic director 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.”
Saban’s retirement is a shocker, as there were no indications that he was ready to end his coaching career so soon. His departure opens up the most coveted coaching job in college football, and Alabama will be able to pick from nearly any viable candidate it wants.
And it opens the door for Freeze and the Auburn Tigers to make a significant jump over their rivals in the SEC in future years.
Just how much of a shocker was it? In an interview on “The Pat McAfee Show” less than a week ago, Saban didn’t sound like a man who was ready for retirement anytime soon.
“Because I’m getting old, I guess,” Saban said when he was asked why people ask him about retirement. “I ask everyone that asks me that question, ‘Are you going to be here for four years?’ Some players ask me, ‘When you gonna retire?’ I look at them say, ‘Can you guarantee me you’re going to be here for four years?’ They looked at me like, ‘Hell no, I’m not making that promise.’ I just think it’s the way of the world now.”
Auburn Tigers Football Message Board Correctly Predicts Nick Saban’s Retirement 5 Hours Before It Happens
The internet is a wild place, and on college football message boards there are rumors about transfers, commitments from top high school prospects, coaching changes and a variety of other topics that sometimes are true, but more often than not, end up being speculation where a fan heard something from someone they trusted and believed it.
Well the Auburn Tigers must have a spy with sources inside the Alabama Crimson Tide program because roughly five hours before Nick Saban announced his retirement and absolutely stunned the college football world, one user on On3’s Auburn Live message board released a post sometime before 4 PM titled “Saban Rumor…”
There had been no hints from any of the college football insiders or reporters who cover the Crimson Tide on a daily basis, but a user who goes by WDE280 seemed to have the inside scoop nobody else did.
The Auburn Tigers die-hard fan posted “Rumor is that Saban called a mandatory team meeting today at 4…could it be? Possible retirement announcement? Is anyone else hearing this?”
And then roughly five hours later, the college football world was stunned when it was officially announced Saban is retiring and stepping down as the Alabama Crimson Tide head coach.
This is why I read the @AuburnLiveOn3 message board daily. https://t.co/2a8m6ILCQQ
— Luke Stampini (@LukeStampini) January 10, 2024
We may never know how the Auburn fan gained insight into the biggest college news story in a decade, but he/she clearly had
