Alabama head coach, 7-time national champion Nick Saban reportedly set to retire

Nick Saban's coaching reign has come to an end. His dominance over college football, however, will forever linger in the lore of the sport.

Saban, who won seven national championships — more than any other major college football coach — and turned Alabama back into a national powerhouse with six of those titles in just 17 seasons, is retiring, according to multiple outlets.

The 72-year-old Saban restored a Crimson Tide program once ruled by Paul "Bear" Bryant to the top of college football after taking over in 2007. His decision to step away was reported Wednesday, first by ESPN and then by other outlets, ending a career that has produced numerous titles and helped launch or relaunch the head coaching careers of Georgia's Kirby Smith, Texas' Steve Sarkisian and Mississippi's Lane Kiffin.

He finished just shy of the top in his final season, leading the Tide from a shaky start to a Southeastern Conference championship and back into the College Football Playoff before falling in overtime to Michigan in a semifinal game at the Rose Bowl.

Colorado coach Deion Sanders, who has appeared with Saban in a series of commercials, had a strong reaction to both the Alabama coach's retirement and the state of college football.

"WOW! College Football just lost the GOAT to retirement," Sanders posted on X. "WOW! I knew it would happen 1 day soon but not this soon. The game has change so much that it chased the GOAT away. College football let's hold up our mirrors and say HONESTLY what u see."

Saban made a two-year foray into the NFL with the Miami Dolphins before returning to college football to revive one of college football's most storied programs, which hadn't won a national title in 15 years. Saban is 297-71-1 as a college head