Nick Saban, one of college football’s coaching greats who won seven national championships and turned Alabama back into a national powerhouse that included six of those titles, has informed the Crimson Tide that he is retiring, sources told ESPN’s Chris Low on Wednesday.
Saban, 72, just completed his 17th season at Alabama, which ended in a loss to eventual national champion Michigan in the Rose Bowl. In 17 seasons, he won 201 games — tied with Vince Dooley (Georgia) for the second-most wins at a single school in SEC history, behind only Bear Bryant, who won 232 games in his 25 seasons with Alabama.
Under Bryant, Alabama reached dynastic heights, winning 13 SEC championships and six national titles. Saban returned the Crimson Tide to those heights, winning nine conference crowns and six more national championships.
In his 28 years as a college head coach — a career that included seven national titles, 12 conference championships (11 SEC, 1 MAC) and 19 bowl game wins — Saban never had a losing season. His worst seasons were in 1996 and 1998 at Michigan State (finished .500).
He made a two-year foray into the NFL with the Miami Dolphins before returning to college football to revive one of college football’s most storied programs, which hadn’t won a national title in 15 years. He won more games in 17 seasons at Alabama (201) than the Crimson Tide won in the 24 seasons between Bryant’s retirement and Saban’s hiring in 2007 (171).
Saban is 292-71-1 as a college head coach, ranking him sixth all-time in the FBS in wins, and 12th in NCAA college football history regardless of division. He led Toledo to a Mid-American Conference championship in 1990, his lone season as that program’s head coach. He then worked as Bill Belichick’s defensive coordinator with the NFL’s Cleveland Browns for four seasons before becoming the first Michigan State coach to lead his first three teams to bowl games and then taking LSU to the 2003 national title.
But Alabama is where he cemented his status as one of college football’s greatest coaches.
Alabama has won at least 10 games in 16 straight seasons under Saban, the longest streak by any program in the AP Poll era (since 1936). This despite playing 107 games against AP-ranked teams during Saban’s tenure, 14 more than any other program.
He led the Crimson Tide to undefeated national championship seasons in both 2009 (14-0) and 2020 (13-0), the only head coach in the BCS/CFP era (since 1998) with multiple undefeated national championship seasons. His seven BCS/CFP national championship wins since 1998 are more than double the amount of any other head coach. Urban Meyer is next with three (Florida, Ohio State), followed by Georgia’s Kirby Smart and Clemson‘s Dabo Swinney with two each.
Under Saban, the Crimson Tide reached the College Football Playoff in eight of the 10 seasons in the CFP era.
He might have lasted just two season in the NFL, but Saban continued to coach NFL talent since coming to Alabama. The Crimson Tide had three players selected in the first round of the 2023 NFL draft, which included the Tide’s first No. 1 overall pick in the Common Draft era (since 1967) in Bryce Young. Saban has had 49 players selected in the first round — including 44 at Alabama — the most of any coach in the Common Draft era. He also coached Alabama’s first four Heisman Trophy winners.
Just as legendary as Saban’s coaching résumé is his coaching tree, as he helped launch or relaunch the head-coaching careers of Smart, Texas‘ Steve Sarkisian and Ole Miss‘ Lane Kiffin.
Under Saban, the Crimson Tide reached the College Football Playoff in eight of the 10 seasons in the CFP era. He finished just shy of the top in his final season, leading the Tide from a shaky start to an upset of then-No. 1 Georgia in the SEC championship game and back into the College Football Playoff before falling in overtime to Michigan in a semifinal game at the Rose Bowl.
Saban didn’t sound like a coach looking to give up the job any time soon, telling ESPN in November, “I’ve always said that if you’re thinking about retirement, you’re probably already retired, and I’m not there yet.”
With Saban retiring, Mark Stoops at Kentucky is now the longest-tenured SEC head coach (2013).
Alabama’s odds to win next season’s national championship moved from 6-1 to 8-1 at ESPN BET after Saban’s retirement was reported. The Crimson Tide have the third-shortest odds, behind Georgia and Ohio State.
ESPN Stats & Information and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
PHILADELPHIA — Mick Abel couldn’t sustain his sublime major league debut and is headed to the minors.
Taijuan Walker is back in Philadelphia’s rotation. And anticipation that prized prospect Andrew Painter could be headed to the Phillies will stretch past the All-Star break.
The Phillies demoted Abel, the rookie right-hander who has struggled since he struck out nine in his major league debut, to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. The Phillies also recalled reliever Seth Johnson from Lehigh Valley ahead of Friday’s loss to Cincinnati.
The 23-year-old Abel made six starts for the Phillies and went 2-2 with 5.04 ERA with 21 strikeouts and nine walks.
“Mick needed to go down and breathe a little bit,” manager Rob Thomson said. “Just get a little reset. It’s not uncommon.”
A 6-foot-5 right-hander selected 15th overall by the Phillies in the 2020 amateur draft, Abel dazzled against Pittsburgh in May when his nine strikeouts tied a Phillies high for a debut, set by Curt Simmons against the New York Giants on Sept. 28, 1947.
Abel hasn’t pitched beyond the fifth inning in any of his last four starts and was rocked for five runs in 1⅔ innings Wednesday against San Diego.
Abel was 3-12 with a 6.46 ERA last year for Lehigh Valley, walking 78 in 108⅔ innings. He improved to 5-2 with a 2.53 ERA in eight minor league starts this year, walking 19 in 46⅓ innings.
“This guy’s had a really good year,” Thomson said. “His poise, his composure is outstanding. He’s really grown. We just need to get back to that. Just attack the zone and get through adversity.”
The Phillies will give Walker another start in Abel’s place against San Francisco. Walker has bounced between the rotation and the bullpen over the past two seasons. He has made eight starts with 11 relief appearances this season and is 3-5 with one save and a 3.64 ERA.
Thomson had said he wanted to give Walker an extended look in the bullpen. Abel’s struggles instead forced Walker — in the third year of a four-year, $72-million contract — back to the rotation. For now.
“He always considers himself a starter and ultimately wants to start,” Thomson said. “He’ll do anything for the ballclub, because he’s that type of guy, but I think he’s generally happy he’s going to go back into a normal routine, normal for him, anyway.”
Wheeler, Suárez and Sánchez have been lights-out in the rotation this year and helped lead the Phillies into first place in the NL East. Jesús Luzardo was a pleasant early season surprise but has struggled over the past two months and gave up six runs in two-plus innings in Friday’s 9-6 loss to the Reds.
“I still have all the confidence in the world in Luzardo,” Thomson said. “Everybody’s going to have bad outings here and there. I think we’re still fine.”
Thomson said he had not made a final decision on who will be the fifth starter after the All-Star break. Painter has two more scheduled starts in Triple-A before the MLB All-Star break and could earn a spot in the rotation. The 22-year-old will not pitch in the All-Star Futures Game as part of the plan to keep him on a hopeful path to the rotation.
Painter hurt an elbow during spring training in 2023 and had Tommy John surgery later that year. He was the 13th overall pick in the 2021 amateur draft and signed for a $3.9 million bonus.
Because of the All-Star break and a quirk in the schedule that has them off on all five Thursdays in July, the Phillies won’t even need a fifth starter after next week until July 22.
Aaron Nola could be back by August as he works his way back from a rib injury. Nola will spend the All-Star break rehabbing in Florida and needs one or two minor league starts before he can rejoin the rotation.
Jesse joined ESPN Chicago in September 2009 and covers MLB for ESPN.com.
CHICAGO — Chicago Cubs righty Jameson Taillon was placed on the injured list on Friday with a right calf strain, the team announced before its game against the St. Louis Cardinals. He’s expected to miss “more than a month,” according to manager Craig Counsell.
Taillon, 33, injured his calf on his last wind sprint after a bullpen session on Thursday.
“He’s going to miss a pretty significant amount of time,” Counsell said.
Taillon was 7-6 with a 4.44 ERA in 17 starts for the Cubs this season who just got lefty Shota Imanaga back from a hamstring injury. Now they’ll have to navigate at least the rest of this month without one of their other key starters.
“There’s a little room for us to be flexible right now,” Counsell said citing the upcoming All-Star break. “We’ll use that to our advantage and we’ll go from there.”
The team recalled left-hander Jordan Wicks to take Taillon’s spot on the roster, though he won’t go directly into the rotation. Instead, the Cubs will throw a bullpen game on Saturday against the Cardinals and “go from there,” according to Counsell.
Wicks, 25, went 1-3 with one save, a 4.06 ERA and 46 strikeouts in 12 appearances (11 starts) with Triple-A Iowa this season. In his past five starts dating to May 18, he posted a 1.65 ERA with 20 strikeouts, compared to just three walks, a 0.86 WHIP and a .186 opponent batting average.
The team might also consider a bigger role for righty Chris Flexen who has been fantastic for them out of the bullpen. Flexen, 31, has a 0.62 ERA in 16 games, including a four inning stint late last month.
“He’s a candidate to be stretched out for sure,” Counsell said. “He’s prepared to do a little bit more.”
Cubs brass have already stated they are looking for starting pitching before the trade deadline later this month. Counsell was asked if Taillon’s injury increases that need. He didn’t take the bait.
“The trade deadline isn’t until July 31,” he said. “I’m focused on the next week or 10 games before the All-Star break.”
CLEVELAND — Guardians outfielder Lane Thomas left during the sixth inning of Friday night’s game against the Detroit Tigers due to mild plantar fascia symptoms with his right foot.
Thomas missed 11 games in late May and early June because of plantar fasciitis in his right foot. He is batting .160 this season and .197 (13-for-66) since coming off the injured list on June 9. He does have four homers in his past 10 games.
“We think he’s good. The plantar fasciitis flared up a little bit again and I just didn’t like the way he looked running around the outfield. So rather than take a chance, I got him out of there,” manager Stephen Vogt said after the 2-1 loss to the Tigers.
Thomas also missed five weeks due to a right wrist bone bruise after getting hit by a pitch during the April 8 home opener against the Chicago White Sox.