Legendary football coach Nick Saban is retiring after a 50-year career, according to ESPN.
The 72-year-old made his mark across college football and the NFL, coaching at nine different universities and with three pro teams. He won nearly 300 games at the college level, finishing his career fifth all-time.
Saban began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Kent State after playing three years for the Golden Flashes. He then took on various defensive coaching positions before settling in as the defensive coordinator at Michigan State and helping the Spartans win a Rose Bowl.
He jumped to the NFL in 1988 to coach the defensive backs of the Houston Oilers and returned to college as the head coach for the University of Toledo in 1990.
Saban spent much of his career jumping between college and the NFL, joining the Cleveland Browns after just one year at Toledo, returning to take head coaching jobs at Michigan State and LSU, and briefly coaching the Miami Dolphins before settling at Alabama.
He has spent the last 17 years coaching the Crimson Tide and rebuilt it into one of the nation’s truly elite programs — winning six national championships during his tenure. Alabama lost in the national semifinal at the Rose Bowl this season, and Saban is the second coach to retire since it ended — joining defensive coordinator Kevin Steele.
