Legendary former Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban cited many reasons for his retirement after the 2023 season, and the way his players handled the Rose Bowl loss to the Michigan Wolverines was one of them.
The Alabama Crimson Tide and head coach Nick Saban were just a few yards away from the end zone in overtime, but starting quarterback Jalen Milroe was stuffed at the line of scrimmage. Michigan ended up winning the College Football Playoff semifinal game 27-20.
The Wolverines would go on to win the National Championship Game against the Washington Huskies 34-13, cementing their 15-0 season.
Nick Saban was disappointed with how Alabama Crimson Tide players acted after the loss
While Nick Saban said that the way his players acted after the Rose Bowl loss to Michigan wasn’t the sole reason he decided to retire, he did say it was a contributing factor in an article from ESPN.
“I want to be clear that wasn’t the reason, but some of those events certainly contributed,” Saban said of his decision to retire. “I was really disappointed in the way that the players acted after the game. You gotta win with class. You gotta lose with class. We had our opportunities to win the game and we didn’t do it, and then showing your ass and being frustrated and throwing helmets and doing that stuff … that’s not who we are and what we’ve promoted in our program.”
During his time as a college football coach, Nick Saban has been most known for his ability to maintain discipline among college-aged athletes. Few coaches were able to produce such consistently disciplined players.
That discipline was the reason that the Alabama Crimson Tide were able to compete for national championships every single year.
The Alabama Crimson Tide defensive coordinator Kevin Steele reiterated this sentiment, especially focusing on penalties in an article from Sports Illustrated.
“Penalties, those type things, when you have something to correct, then you place an emphasis on them. We have officials at practice. We chart the officials,” said Kevin Steele during his only fall camp press conference. “There are repercussions for your actions, and it stays in front of you. In most cases in life, if you keep something that you need to correct in front of you continuously, most people learn.”
When Saban returned to Alabama and addressed the players, it became more clear to him that the message he was sending his team wasn’t resonating as it had in the past. Along with the fact that he found it harder to assure players he’d be there for several more years, Saban decided to retire.
Nick Saban had nothing left to prove with the Alabama Crimson Tide
Nick Saban was widely considered the greatest head coach in the history of college football when he stepped down from the Alabama Crimson Tide.
He won seven titles as a college football head coach, and six of them were with the Crimson Tide. After going 7-6 in his first season with Alabama, Saban never won less than 10 games. Saban has produced more first-round draft picks than he has losses as 44 Alabama players went in the first round under Saban.
Saban only had one season with less than 11 wins with Alabama. His coaching tree is unlike any other, and it may include his replacement. Coaches that have worked under, or with Saban in some capacity include:
- Kirby Smart
- Lane Kiffin
- Will Muschamp
- Jeremy Pruitt
- Mark Dantonio
- Jimbo Fisher
- Bill O’Brien
- Steve Sarkisian
- Jim McElwain
- Mel Tucker
- Billy Napier
- Mario Cristobal
- Mike Locksley
- Jason Garrett
- Dan Lanning
- Major Applewhite
- Brian Daboll
- Curt Cignetti
Saban is responsible for the production of college football legends like running back Mark Ingram, wide receiver Julio Jones and linebacker Reuben Foster just to name a few.
On this date in 2009, Alabama beat South Carolina 20-6. Mark Ingram rushed for 246 yards and scored the game-clinching TD on a six-play 68-yard drive in the 4th quarter. #HeismanDrive pic.twitter.com/34I2tPx7SS
— alabamavault (@alabamavault) October 17, 2018
We’re Reuben Foster Days till Alabama Football is back 😤🔥pic.twitter.com/64n5CmBT2c
— Alabama DieHards (@DiehardsAlabama) August 24, 2022
Since we’re Julio Jones Days till Alabama Football is back pic.twitter.com/GK2PcCVW1Y
— Nick Saban is Kirby Smart’s Daddy (@BuiltBySaban) September 18, 2020
Saban proved he was one of the best to ever lead a team out onto a college football field and then some. College football won’t be the same without him, but no one is blaming the 72-year-old for calling it quits.
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