The questions arose almost immediately after 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 national and conference championships.
“The last few days have been difficult,” Saban told ESPN in an interview Thursday. “But look, it's kind of like I told the players. I was going to go in and ask them to make a 100% commitment to come back and try to win a championship, but I always said no, 'I want to downgrade the program.'
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Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban celebrates after the SEC championship game against the Georgia Bulldogs on December 2, 2023 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. (Jeffrey Vest/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Saban, 72, spent 28 seasons as a head coach, the last 17 of them at Alabama. He said he made a decision about his coaching future after returning from a recent trip to his home in Florida.
“And I felt like whether it's recruiting or hiring coaches, now that we have people leaving, the same old problem always comes up: How long are you going to do this?” Saban said.
ALABAMA LOSES 5-STAR WIDE RECEIVER COMMITMENT AFTER NICK SABAN'S RETIREMENT
Saban's decision also opened a 30-day window for Crimson Tide players to enter the transfer portal, with five-star receiver Ryan Williams already announcing he was leaving.
Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne is now tasked with finding the right person for the high-profile position. There has been widespread speculation about what Alabama is looking for in a head coach.
Oregon's Dan Lanning's name has been linked to the job. But Lanning attempted to put those rumors to rest Thursday by posting a video showing the Ducks head coach telling his team that he was staying in Eugene.
Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban reacts to a play during the third quarter against the Georgia Bulldogs in the SEC championship game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on December 2, 2023 in Atlanta. (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
“I want to be here in Eugene as long as Eugene has me,” Lanning says in the video. “This place has everything you could want. There's a bit of a problem in today's society with people looking for what's next and where there's an opportunity.
“The reality is, the grass isn't always greener. In fact, the grass is a lot greener in Eugene.”
Washington head coach Kalen DeBoer and Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin have also been mentioned in conversations about the Alabama position. Kiffin spent three seasons under Saban, serving as Alabama's quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator.
Meanwhile, Saban said he's not going anywhere just yet. He still went to his office Thursday morning, as always, and said he wanted to be there to support the current coaches and players.
“There's a lot of things to clean up, to help as we move forward,” he told ESPN. “I'm still going to have a presence here at the university in some capacity and try to figure all that out and how it works.”
His shadow, and his statue outside Bryant-Denny Stadium, will loom large for his successor.
Alabama coach Nick Saban takes his team onto the field for a game against the Arkansas Razorbacks on Oct. 1, 2022, at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville, Arkansas. (John Bunch/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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No program knows the challenge of replacing a legendary coach better than Alabama, which took more than two decades to find a successor comparable to Paul “Bear” Bryant after he retired following the 1982 season. Alabama went through seven coaches before the arrival of Saban, starting with former Bryant player Ray Perkins.
Everyone had at least one 10-win season, but only Gene Stallings (1990-96) won a national title, in 1992. The next came with Saban in 2009, a 17-year drought that would be tough for fans to swallow again. Bama. Alabama won its last national championship in 2020.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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