Nick Saban details difficult decision to retire: 'I didn't want to ride the program down'

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Questions swirled almost immediately after head coach Nick Saban announced his decision to retire after 17 seasons and six national titles at Alabama.

On Thursday, Saban publicly explained the reasoning behind his decision, saying he wanted to leave Alabama while the program was still in a good position to regularly compete for conference and national championships.

"The last few days have been hard," Saban told ESPN in an interview Thursday. "But, look, it’s kind of like I told the players. I was going to go in there and ask them to get 100% committed to coming back and trying to win a championship, but I’ve always said that I didn’t want to ride the program down."

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Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban celebrates after the SEC championship game against the Georgia Bulldogs at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Dec. 2, 2023. (Jeffrey Vest/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

The 72-year-old Saban spent 28 seasons as a head coach, the last 17 of them at Alabama. He said he came to a decision on his coaching future after returning from a recent trip to his Florida home. 

"And I felt whether it was recruiting or hiring coaches, now that we have people leaving, the same old issue always sort of came up — how long are you going to do this for?" Saban said. 

ALABAMA LOSES 5-STAR WIDE RECEIVER COMMIT AFTER NICK SABAN RETIREMENT

Saban's decision also opened a 30-day window for Crimson Tide players to enter the transfer portal, and five-star wide receiver Ryan Williams already announced he was leaving.

Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne is now tasked with finding the right person