Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Matt Scalici

College football coaches pay homage to Nick Saban after the legendary Alabama coach announced his retirement

The news shook the college football world to its foundations. Nick Saban, after a 17-year tenure at Alabama, during which he won six national championships, announced his retirement Wednesday.

Rival fans celebrated in the streets while Crimson Tide fans and former players expressed everything from wistful remembrance to desperate sadness on social media.

Perhaps no column of the college football world reacted to the news quite like college coaches. From Saban’s biggest rivals to his former coworkers, Saban’s colleagues in one of our country’s weirdest and wildest professions were nearly unanimous in the respect they had for the coach, who most agree is the greatest in the sport’s history.

Gus Malzahn

Current UCF head coach Gus Malzahn went toe-to-toe with Nick Saban for years as the head coach at archrival Auburn.

Hugh Freeze

Another coach with a long history with Saban, Freeze just completed his first Iron Bowl as head coach of Auburn, now the only one he’ll ever get to coach in against Saban. Freeze also won twice against Saban during his time as the head coach at Ole Miss.

Deion Sanders

“Coach Prime” never faced off against Saban but the two have a long history of working together in commercials for Aflac.

Steve Sarkisian

Sarkisian paid tribute to both Saban and another legendary head coach he once worked for, Pete Carroll. Sarkisian served as offensive coordinator for both coaches and assisted them during national championship seasons.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.