Nick Saban’s decision to retire as Alabama’s football coach didn’t come as a major surprise to athletic director Greg Byrne. Saban had hinted that the end was near following the 2022 season, spurring Byrne to start preparing for that eventuality.
That preparation would culminate in Alabama’s hiring of Washington’s Kalen DeBoer, fresh off a College Football Playoff appearance, to replace perhaps the greatest coach in college football history.
DeBoer led the Huskies to the national title game against Michigan after beating Texas in the semifinal at the Sugar Bowl. On the other side of the four-team bracket, Alabama fell to Michigan at the Rose Bowl, which proved to be Saban’s final game as coach, and—as he told ESPN’s Chris Low for an article published Wednesday—directly contributed to the timing of his decision.
