Sources: Alabama coaching great Saban retiring
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.
TORONTO — Blue Jays outfielder George Springer skipped into third base on a key RBI hit by teammate Alejandro Kirk, and hopped right into an inning-ending out in the fifth on Sunday against the Athletics.
Springer was called out following a replay review after Athletics third baseman Max Schuemann alertly kept his glove on the Blue Jays right fielder while Springer hopped up and down on third base.
Springer, who had reached on an RBI single that opened the scoring for Toronto, was celebrating Kirk’s double that cut the deficit to 3-2.
The out call meant Toronto slugger Addison Barger didn’t get to bat with runners at second and third.
Schuemann had just entered the game as a defensive replacement, taking over for Miguel Andujar.
The Athletics had lost five straight and 16 of 17 entering Sunday.
ARLINGTON, Texas — Slumping Rangers slugger Adolis García was held out of Texas’ lineup for the third consecutive day Sunday, with president of baseball operations Chris Young saying the club wants the 2023 ALCS MVP to make some mechanical changes.
“We need him to kind of commit to some of these changes that we think will get him back to the ’23 version of himself and help him be the player that we know he can be,” Young said before Texas’ series finale against St. Louis.
García is hitting .155 in the past 20 games with 25 strikeouts. He is hitting .208 overall, with seven homers and a team-high 27 RBIs for a Rangers club that has struggled offensively. He ranked 14th in the majors with 122 home runs over the past four seasons.
García, who has started 55 of Texas’ 60 games in right field this season, missed only one other game before this weekend, with manager Bruce Bochy saying Friday that García was being given a mental break.
“It’s about the mental reset and coming back with more energy,” García told reporters Saturday. “I’m working on some stuff without the pressure of having to do something up there.”
García, 32, is in the final season of a two-year contract.
The anticipated return of Evan Carter to the active roster Tuesday, joining Wyatt Langford, Alejandro Osuna and Sam Haggerty, further crowds the Rangers outfield as García tries to return to the lineup.
“It’s going to be performance-driven at this point,” Young said.
Texas also made three roster moves before Sunday’s game. Right-hander Nathan Eovaldi (triceps fatigue) was placed on the 15-day injured list retroactive to Thursday, catcher Tucker Barnhart was designated for assignment, and right-hander Codi Heuer was selected from Triple-A Round Rock.
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