Nick Saban made a pretty sudden and shocking decision to retire following the conclusion of the 2023-24 college football season, and it sounds like the way his team acted following the Rose Bowl loss to the Michigan Wolverines certainly played an impact in that decision.
During a recent interview with ESPN, Nick Saban called out his team and the Alabama players for their antics after the game, saying “That’s not who we are.”
“I want to be clear that wasn’t the reason, but some of those events certainly contributed,” Saban said of his decision to retire according to ESPN. “I was really disappointed in the way that the players acted after the game. You gotta win with class. You gotta lose with class. We had our opportunities to win the game and we didn’t do it, and then showing your [butt] and being frustrated and throwing helmets and doing that stuff … that’s not who we are and what we’ve promoted in our program.”
Saban was then frustrated by the way things went when he met with players after the end of the season, claiming that the majority of the roster approached him seeking assurances of money and playing time or else they were planning to hit the transfer portal.
“I thought we could have a [heck] of a team next year, and then maybe 70 or 80 percent of the players you talk to, all they want to know is two things: What assurances do I have that I’m going to play because they’re thinking about transferring, and how much are you going to pay me?” Saban said. “Our program here was always built on how much value can we create for your future and your personal development, academic success in graduating and developing an NFL career on the field.
“So I’m saying to myself, ‘Maybe this doesn’t work anymore, that the goals and aspirations are just different and that it’s all about how much money can I make as a college player?’ I’m not saying that’s bad. I’m not saying it’s wrong, I’m just saying that’s never been what we were all about, and it’s not why we had success through the years.”
Ultimately, Saban decided to retire. He said that he was quickly approaching retirement age anyway and was taking things on a year-by-year basis, but it’s clear that these things played a role in his decision.
[ESPN]
