Jalen Milroe reveals the moment he knew that Nick Saban would no longer be the head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide
A behind-the-scenes look at what happened the day Nick Saban stepped down.
The Alabama Crimson Tide is approaching its third season since Nick Saban decided to retire from coaching college football. The winningest head coach of all time has been busy in his post-coaching life, enjoying time on College GameDay, having his name floated as a potential name for college football commissioner, and even getting into sports ownership.
But we have never heard about the day that Coach Saban stepped down. That was, until Jalen Milroe brought it up.
Jalen Milroe reveals details about the day Nick Saban stepped down
“Coach would usually come in there (meeting room) about 1:59, he would stroll out there, and, you know, walk on stage and talk with the team. He came in at 2:01, right? And he walks on stage and says what he has to say about the season. We’re thinking, it’s gonna be strictly addressing the season, how last season went. Talk about [how] it’s a new vision, new team. This is the mission that we need to attack this year. Go on the board, say this is our offseason program. That’s what goes on. That’s what we thought,” said Milroe via the Closed on Sunday’s podcast on YouTube.
“He talked about himself. I had never seen him talk about himself. He started going on a whole rant about, you know, how he thought he did, how he could have done a better job, and he wrapped up saying ‘I felt as though I need to retire.’ I kid you not, all our phones started buzzing.”
It was clear that between the original meeting being postponed a day and Coach Saban walking in late, the players knew something was up. It’s also very clear that those same players were left shocked by what they had just heard, similar to the reaction on social media by all of fans and media.
Coach Saban has come out recently and said that he could no longer coach the way he was during that 2023 season, or it would kill him. He didn’t have the same level of staff that he was accustomed to, and it clearly started to weigh on him. That coupled with the future of college football and the problems at hand, turned out to be the final straw.
For a man who has nothing left to prove and has accomplished the most in the history of the sport, I’d say his championships and his history of first-round picks at Alabama are also good reasons to call it a career.
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