The surprising news of Nick Saban’s retirement from Alabama football has been made public.
In a lengthy interview published by ESPN’s Chris Low, Saban talked about a variety of reasons for his decision to resign, including his age, dealing with players in the NIL era and the transfer portal, and how his players handled their defeat to Michigan in the College Football Playoff semifinals.
The 72-year-old Saban made a particularly incisive remark on New Year’s Day, stating that he did not believe his players lost with “class” after Michigan defeated Alabama 27–20 in an overtime thriller at Rose Bowl.
The reasons behind Nick Saban’s retirement were disclosed in an extensive interview with ESPN.
Saban said to ESPN, “I want to be clear that wasn’t the reason, but some of those events certainly contributed.” “The way the players behaved following the game truly disappointed me. You must prevail with grace. You must fail the class. We had the chance to win the game, but we didn’t, so acting like an idiot, getting angry, tossing helmets, and doing other things isn’t who we are or what our program is about.
Additionally, according to Saban, athletes in college football are now more focused on themselves than on the team.
“I thought we could have a really good team next year, but maybe 70 or 80 percent of the players you speak with just ask two questions: How much will you pay me, and what guarantees do I have that I’ll play because they’re considering transferring?” said Saban.
“The foundation of our program has always been the value we can add to your future, personal growth, academic achievement, and opportunity to play in the NFL.
I’m thinking to myself, “Maybe this isn’t working anymore, that the expectations have changed, and that the main thing is how much money I can make as a college athlete?” That’s not a negative thing, per se. Not because it’s incorrect; rather, it’s not why we’ve succeeded throughout the years and it’s never what we were all about.
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