For the greater part of the last two decades, Alabama football and Nick Saban have been attached at the hip.
It was a relationship that was looked at from afar as idyllic, if not demanding. Regardless, it translated into wild success for nearly all of Saban's 17 years leading the Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa, as he built the Alabama program back into one of college football's prominent programs.
However, as the Crimson Tide kicks off the 2024 College Football season on Saturday vs. Western Kentucky, there will be a new man working the sidelines for Alabama in Kalen DeBoer.
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And so, as Week 1 of the college football season approaches, curiosity has risen on where Saban is, and why he's no longer manning the sidelines for the Crimson Tide.
Here's what you need to know about where Saban is for Week 1, including why he is no longer manning the Crimson Tide's sidelines in 2024:
Is Nick Saban coaching this week?
No. The former Alabama football coach announced his retirement in January, ending a coaching career that spanned nearly 50 years, the last 17 of which were in Alabama.
"The University of Alabama has been a very special place to Terry and me. We have enjoyed every minute of our 17 years being the head coach at Alabama as well as becoming a part of the Tuscaloosa community. It is not just about how many games we won and lost, but it's about the legacy and how we went about it," Saban said in a statement at the time,
"We always tried to do it the right way. The goal was always to help players create more value for their future, be the best player they could be and be more successful in life because they were part of the program. Hopefully, we have done that, and we will always consider Alabama our home."
He retired as one of the greatest college football coaches of all time — as highlighted by the nine SEC championship titles and six national championship titles that the Crimson Tide won under Saban. The 72-year-old's seven national championships are the most ever, with his first title coming in 2003 when he was at LSU.
Alabama hired DeBoer away from Washington as Saban's successor on Jan. 12, 2023 — two days after Saban announced his retirement.
Where is Nick Saban in Week 1?
Saban is As part of ESPN's "College GameDay" crew for the 2024 season, Saban is in College Station, Texas for Week 1 as "GameDay" is at No. 7 Notre Dame vs. No. 20 Texas A&M on Saturday.
You can watch Saban alongside Rece Davis, Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard and Pat McAfee on "College GameDay" starting at 8 a.m. CT on Saturday on ESPN.
Nick Saban's college coaching record, career
- Total seasons (college head coach): 28
- Overall record (college only): 292-71-1
- Total SEC championships: 11
- Total national championships: Seven (2003, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017 and 2020)
Saban made his college head coaching debut in 1990 at Toledo, where he led the Rockets to a 9-2 overall record that season. Following three seasons in the NFL as the defensive coordinator of the Cleveland Browns, Saban returned to the college ranks as the head coach at Michigan State, a position he held from 1995-99.
In 2001 at LSU, Saban won the first of 11 SEC Championships as the Tigers defeated Tennessee 31-20 in the SEC title game. Two years later, Saban won his first of seven NCAA national championship titles when LSU beat Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl.
Following a brief tenure in the NFL with the Miami Dolphins from 2005-06, Saban famously returned to the college ranks as he was hired at Alabama in January of 2007 after saying he wouldn't take the Alabama job. The marriage between Saban and Alabama is one of the best in the history of college football as Saban restored the Crimson Tide program back to national prominence within two years of his hire.
During Saban's 17 seasons in Tuscaloosa, Alabama became college football's preeminent program, as highlighted by the Crimson Tide's four national championship titles from 2009 through 2015. In 2023, Saban led Alabama to its 30th SEC Championship title — his 11th SEC Championship title — as the Crimson Tide defeated Georgia 27-24.
Saban finished with a 292-71-1 overall record in 28 seasons as a college head coach.
Here's a full breakdown of Saban's coaching career both at the college and NFL ranks:
- Kent State (Graduate Assistant): 1973-74
- Kent State (Linebackers Coach): 1975-76
- Syracuse (Outside Linebackers Coach): 1977
- West Virginia (Defensive Back Coach): 1978-79
- Ohio State (Defensive Back Coach): 1980-81
- Navy (Defensive Back Coach): 1982
- Michigan State (Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Back Coach): 1983-87
- Houston Oilers (Defensive Backs Coach): 1988-89
- Toledo (Head Coach): 1990
- Cleveland Browns (Defensive Coordinator): 1991-94
- Michigan State (Head Coach): 1995-99
- LSU (Head Coach): 2000-04
- Miami Dolphins (Head Coach): 2005-06
- Alabama (Head Coach): 2007-2023
How many national championships did Nick Saban win?
- Total national championships: Seven
All told, Saban won seven national championships during his coaching career in college, six at Alabama and one at LSU. He ranks first among college coaches in the history of college football with the most national championship titles at seven, a feat he accomplished in 2020 when Alabama defeated Ohio State.
Here's a breakdown of national championships that Saban won during his career:
- 2003 (LSU): Beat Oklahoma 31-20 *
- 2009 (Alabama): Beat Texas 37-21
- 2011 (Alabama): Beat LSU 21-0
- 2012 (Alabama): Beat Notre Dame 42-14
- 2015 (Alabama): Beat Clemson 45-40
- 2017 (Alabama): Beat Georgia 26-23
- 2020 (Alabama): Beat Ohio State 53-24
* LSU was declared the national championship by the BSC but not AP Voters, as USC was declared co-national champions with the Tigers
