Legendary college football coach Nick Saban has retired after coaching college football for 28 years and winning seven national championships: six with Alabama and one with Louisiana State University.
Nick Saban started his football career as a defensive back for Kent State under coach Don James. He graduated from the University in 1973 with a bachelor's degree in business.
He began his coaching legacy at many D-1 schools as an assistant coach. These schools are Syracuse, West Virginia, Ohio State, Navy, and the head coach Michigan State. In 1990 he started his legacy at the University of Toledo in Toledo, Ohio. He led the Rockets to a 9-2 record and co-champions of the MAC Conference.
Saban made the jump to the NFL as the Defensive Coordinator of the Cleveland Browns under coach Bill Belicheck for four seasons. Saban later said “Those were the worst four years of my life.”
His arrival at LSU is a bittersweet moment for LSU fans because Saban delivered them a national championship in 2003 but he went to one of their biggest SEC rivals in Alabama. After Saban wrapped up the 2004 season at LSU after losing in the Orange Bowl to the Iowa Hawkeyes he left to go to the Miami Dolphins of the NFL.
He started the season with the Dolphins 3-7 after a first-week promising win over the Broncos 34-10. But after that he only won 2 of the next 9 games and looked like the season was over. But after a late season comeback winning their final six games and finishing the season a respectable 9-7. The Next season was nothing short of a disaster. They started the season 1-6 and finished the season 6-10 being Saban's first losing season. After a meeting with Dolphins owner Wayne Huizenga, Saban announced he would be going to Tuscaloosa and become Alabama's new head football coach.
Nick Saban’s next 16 seasons were nothing short of greatness: 6 National Championships, 9 SEC Championship, and 12 SEC Western Championships. He also won 4 SEC Coach of the Year awards, and shipped 123 players to the NFL. He left Alabama as the number two all-time winningest coach just behind the great Bear Bryant. He left Alabama right after an overtime-thriller Rose Bowl loss to the National Champion Michigan Wolverines.
Nick Saban finished his football legacy with a career record of 307-88-1.