Nick Saban on why he retired and why he won't coach again

[cdub55]

Curious that Saban's the only coach I'm aware of that threw in the towel. I fully believe that the issues at Alabama are/were worse than most other places. That came from how CNS managed the changes that were happening (NIL/portal) and he was not recruiting enough of the right kind of players. Too much focus on raw athleticism and too little regard for academics, football IQ, and character.

No doubt that CNS was working his tail off and handling all of these things exactly how he thought was best. In retrospect, it seems he misread the players and ended up making a bad situation worse. It happens to even the best sometimes. He would probably have had to tear it completely down and rebuild to fix it. Too big of a project when you can't get the players or coaches that you want.

No. Just no...

 

[cdub55]

"Too much focus on raw athleticism and too little regard for academics, football IQ, and character."

Really can't agree with this post in general, but I will just single out this one sentence.

I probably don't get out much, but I have seen no evidence whatsoever that this was the case with Coach Saban.

Don't know if there has ever been a college program with a more scientific approach to selecting players. This is well documented in numerous places.

I would find it hard to believe that Coach just threw his standards out the window, as this post would seem to imply.

Were there exceptions? You could certainly make a case for that. But to make a systemic change seems unlikely and a bit of a stretch to me.

Just my 2¢

I've mentioned this before but I'll say it again.

I had a 5* player one year that everyone and their momma was offering. In one day I had 3 SEC coaches and a few of the other national brand coaches scheduled to meet with me and my athlete to make their last pitch to try to get him to sign before NSD. Every single coach that walked in the door was pitching their program and buttering me and the athlete up. Telling jokes and having a good time. Saban was the only coach out of all of them that was still evaluating. When the young man was not in the room he was looking me in the eyes and saying, "so how fast is he really?". "What kind of kid is he?". etc.

No one recruited like Saban. No one put in the time like Saban. No one!

 

[Tide&True]

I don't think CNS will ever say that NIL was the reason he retired because of the optics...but you will never convince me that NIL didn't have a part in his retiring. I'm not saying he didn't want players to receive money but I do think the system by which NIL operates is the issue. Unfortunately, it's going to be hard to get the genie back in the bottle now. More than ever before money will determine National Championships. For this reason my college football fandom is now muted and less demonstrative. It was good while it lasted.

 

[cdub55]

I don't think CNS will ever say that NIL was the reason he retired because of the optics...but you will never convince me that NIL didn't have a part in his retiring. I'm not saying he didn't want players to receive money but I do think the system by which NIL operates is the issue. Unfortunately, it's going to be hard to get the genie back in the bottle now. More than ever before money will determine National Championships. For this reason my college football fandom is now muted and less demonstrative. It was good while it lasted.

Coach Saban was a leader who led with a heavy hand. He was extremely demanding of his coaches and his players. The older Saban got the less this was the case but make no mistake about it, he was still asking and expecting more than most.

NIL switched the leverage on who has the power. When a player can just up and leave on a whim, it is hard to lead in this manner. I think NIL did play a major factor in CNS retiring, but it was more indirectly.

 

[arthurdawg]

Coach Saban was a leader who led with a heavy hand. He was extremely demanding of his coaches and his players. The older Saban got the less this was the case but make no mistake about it, he was still asking and expecting more than most.

NIL switched the leverage on who has the power. When a player can just up and leave on a whim, it is hard to lead in this manner. I think NIL did play a major factor in CNS retiring, but it was more indirectly.

I agree... we saw the system coming apart at the seams from 2021-2023. CNS was faced with his biggest rebranding and rebuilding and recasting job ever. And I think he wisely walked away still pretty durned close to the top. He is tough man, but all of us will find a limit to our physical and mental ability as we hit our 70s.

 

[KrAzY3]

I don’t know about 10, but there’s no doubt in my mind that it would have been several. I personally think he would have at least duplicated what he did at Alabama.

LSU is not as good a situation as Alabama. Having said that, they won two more after he left and he personally kept them from winning another. So, I'd say he wins at least 4 total at LSU, however, I think he ends up with at least one less championship total at LSU than his career total. They just don't have as much to work with there.