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

[RollTide_HTTR]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1882115591571476806

Found this interesting. I know he's mentioned players asking about money and all that jazz but I found this a fuller answer. All the clips I've seen from this interview have been really good. Probably worth watching the whole thing when I have time

 

[Bamabuzzard]

Interestingly he mentioned not having as good of a staff and feeling like he had to be more involved in everything. As time goes by Saban will probably come to the conclusion that he retired for a number of reasons. When he immediately retired he said it was the players coming in only wanting to know about money. Since then he's said the transfer portal and the volatility in the rosters was a reason he got out and now it was because the work started to get to him. The truth is, it was all of that. It all accumulated and he reached a point where he had enough. Nothing wrong with reaching that decision. He more than earned the right to walk away when he wanted to.

 

[AlexanderFan]

Interestingly he mentioned not having as good of a staff and feeling like he had to be more involved in everything. As time goes by Saban will probably come to the conclusion that he retired for a number of reasons. When he immediately retired he said it was the players coming in only wanting to know about money. Since then he's said the transfer portal and the volatility in the rosters was a reason he got out and now it was because the work started to get to him. The truth is, it was all of that. It all accumulated and he reached a point where he had enough. Nothing wrong with reaching that decision. He more than earned the right to walk away when he wanted to.

He’s too driven for only one aspect of the job to make him retire. It’s the combined weight of all the straw on the camel’s back, we just seem to remember the last one more.

 

[dWarriors88]

Sucks, those were some glorious years we had there. In 2008, no one would have thought Saban would have been at Alabama very long. I remember the chatter clear as day. He did this thing for almost 20 years. I'm very grateful to have experienced those years. I was born in 1990, I grew up hearing stories about Bear Bryant, and so for the same style legacy to come through at Alabama and getting to experience our own Bear Bryant is just very much on brand.

I would be gutted if Coach Saban took a job somewhere else, truly.

 

[M2J]

Interestingly he mentioned not having as good of a staff and feeling like he had to be more involved in everything. As time goes by Saban will probably come to the conclusion that he retired for a number of reasons. When he immediately retired he said it was the players coming in only wanting to know about money. Since then he's said the transfer portal and the volatility in the rosters was a reason he got out and now it was because the work started to get to him. The truth is, it was all of that. It all accumulated and he reached a point where he had enough. Nothing wrong with reaching that decision. He more than earned the right to walk away when he wanted to.

To be fair and I believe him. First thing I remember him saying was it was hard at his age having players not trust how long he would be around and he also said it was harder to keep staff because they didn't trust how long he would be around... It rather recruit good staff. I think we could all see he was needing to be more involved on both sides due to a lesser quality staff, and had years of a lesser quality staff in part PERHAPS because of his age and the assumed lack of stability.

So I have always clinged onto the age and staff things being the driver, as he had probably his personal best coaching year on his way out after having to do more than usual. I have no doubts that the player stuff was a issue too, but his recruiting was as good as ever and it would be much easier for him and this university to raise more money than most others. Though, without a reliable staff, that had to make it that much more taxing

 

[PA Tide Fan]

If you watch the full video which I have in another thread I think the question asked at the 23:20 point is important about what he thinks it takes for a coach to be successful as him. It's an answer that takes several minutes but I think it may have been a message for Kalen DeBoer and the 2024 Alabama team.

 

[davefrat]

If he stayed at LSU he might have won 10+ championships.

 

[dWarriors88]

If you watch the full video which I have in another thread I think the question asked at the 23:20 point is important about what he thinks it takes for a coach to be successful as him. It's an answer that takes several minutes but I think it may have been a message for Kalen DeBoer and the 2024 Alabama team.

Never misses a chance to send a message to the ones who need it. He did this often in the media for his own players.

 

[AlexanderFan]

If he stayed at LSU he might have won 10+ championships.

He had to scratch that NFL itch to find out he liked college more.

 

[JohnD]

If he stayed at LSU he might have won 10+ championships.

And he might have won 1 more. Too many variables. And we'll never know.

 

[countrytider]

If he stayed at LSU he might have won 10+ championships.

I don’t think so. I think there was something special about the pairing of Nick Saban and Alabama Football that led to the Dynasty.

I think he would have been very successful, obviously. I think most likely somewhere in the neighborhood of about 5-6 SEC titles and 3-4 NC’s max.

I don’t think he wins 6 NC’s and 9 SEC titles at LSU.

JMO, of course.

 

[Bama9001]

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.

 

[davefrat]

And he might have won 1 more. Too many variables. And we'll never know.

Yeah, he could have gotten eaten by an alligator or run over by a bread truck or something.

 

[Tideflyer]

If he stayed at LSU he might have won 10+ championships.

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.

 

[Bamabuzzard]

To be fair and I believe him. First thing I remember him saying was it was hard at his age having players not trust how long he would be around and he also said it was harder to keep staff because they didn't trust how long he would be around... It rather recruit good staff. I think we could all see he was needing to be more involved on both sides due to a lesser quality staff, and had years of a lesser quality staff in part PERHAPS because of his age and the assumed lack of stability.

So I have always clinged onto the age and staff things being the driver, as he had probably his personal best coaching year on his way out after having to do more than usual. I have no doubts that the player stuff was a issue too, but his recruiting was as good as ever and it would be much easier for him and this university to raise more money than most others. Though, without a reliable staff, that had to make it that much more taxing

It was the combination of all of it that made him decide to pull the plug and I get it. At his age and especially with grandkids, life perspective begins to change, the body naturally wants to slow down and begin to hit cruise control. He made the right decision because in the line of work he was in, if you're thinking about retirement, you've already "retired".

 

[BamaHoopsBoi]

How did 17 years pass by so quickly...

 

[oskie]

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.

"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¢

 

[DzynKingRTR]

It was the combination of all of it that made him decide to pull the plug and I get it. At his age and especially with grandkids, life perspective begins to change, the body naturally wants to slow down and begin to hit cruise control. He made the right decision because in the line of work he was in, if you're thinking about retirement, you've already "retired".

He seems happier now with his current gig.

 

[UAH]

It was a really nice run to even new heights for those of us for those of us who grew up worshiping CPB. Who ever thought then that he would be ultimately followed by an even more successful coach. CNS clearly ran the most consistently outstanding program in college football.

He was richly rewarded as the highest paid coach in college football and became incredibly
and independently wealthy entering into numerous other business and real estate ventures plus public notoriety that undoubtly added to his feeling of burn out.

I for one do not appreciate the company he keeps on ESPN and am not particularly interested in his pronouncements on the disaster that college football and Alabama football has become. I fail to appreciate his cashing in on constant TV commercials and feel the same way about the Manning's in particular.

I will learn to live without CNS and college football and am well on my way to kicking the habit!

 

[bamaslammer]

Curious that Saban's the only coach I'm aware of that threw in the towel.

Saban was at the age where he could just say screw it and retire. Obviously younger coaches still need to work but I believe you'll start seeing some of the better college coaches move to the NFL. At least in the NFL guys have contracts. The current situation has to be a nitemare between trying to recruit/buy high school players and having to constantly keep up with the competition to retain you're current roster. I don't know when they have time to develop a game plan much less even see your kids.