The day is January 10th, 2024. One of the greatest coaches of all time has stepped down from the position that has brought him more fame than many can fathom. After sending forty-nine of his players to the NFL as first-round draft picks and winning seven national championships, Coach Nick Saban will never be forgotten. Nonetheless, time must go on, so who will lead the Crimson Tide into battle now?

Let’s rewind a little bit. To be able to comprehend the enormity of Saban’s impact on the collegiate football world, one must first understand his beginnings. Saban was a quarterback for his high school team and a defensive back for Kent State University. However, his advancement in the realm of football did not come in the form of fame or appraisal, but at the hands of a mentor. His coach, Don James, a College Football Hall of Famer, is said to have contributed to many of the strategies that brought Saban’s teams success. Roughly twenty years after Saban left Kent State, he joined the staff at LSU. He quickly turned around the program, earning a National Championship for the university. Later on in his career, Saban went to the NFL for a short stint as the head coach of the Miami Dolphins. He quickly realized that coaching professional football players was not his forté. Finally, in 2007, the University of Alabama reached out to Saban to hire him as the head coach for football. After some convincing, Saban joined the team, and the rest is history. 

During his time at Alabama from 2007 to 2023, Saban collected many trophies for the SEC team. Previously, in 2003, Saban had won the National Championship for LSU. Saban also has eleven SEC wins and fifteen Western SEC wins. All in all, Saban has also earned six College Playoffs trophies. Under Saban, Alabama only lost twenty-nine games, while winning a total of 209. Saban, in his twenty-eight years of coaching, never had a losing season. With all these wins under Saban’s belt, what more could anyone ask for out of a coach? Saban, unsurprisingly, could add more to his resumé. He has sent over twenty-six of his previous assistant coaches, defensive, and offensive coordinators on to be head coaches for other organizations. One of these individuals is Kirby Smart, the head coach of the back-to-back National Champions— the Georgia Bulldogs. The number of head coaches Saban has sent forth is simply the numerical representation of success. To list even more of his accomplishments, in his career Saban has coached four winners of the Heisman Trophy, the highest collegiate football honor.

The Crimson Tide has been through many ups and downs, as any champion will. Many wonder what the secret ingredient to Alabama’s astounding success is. The answer is a simple, yet important, concept: Trust in the process. In a 60 Minutes Rewind episode aired in 2013, Saban’s seemingly impractical and harsh methods were on full display. A freshman at the time, Eddie Jackson was a victim of Saban’s critical remarks during one practice. But, using Saban’s methods, Jackson stuck with the programs and kept getting better. Now Jackson is a safety for the Chicago Bears and an integral part of their organization. 

“Trust in the process. Discipline is a 24/7 duty. Do your job and the rest will come.” Follow these principles and success is ensured. Saban’s impeccable strategies on the field have garnered him praise all over the world. But his principles of discipline and dedication off the field have taught his players, like Eddie Jackson, more about how to lead a life than any amount of games won ever will. 

Well, now that Saban’s gone, what are the next steps for this team filled with promising individuals? Saban has left big shoes to fill, and someone has already begun wearing them. Kalen DeBoer, the head coach of the Washington Huskies, is stepping up to the plate and preparing to lead the Crimson Tide in the 2024-2025 season. In the 2023-2024 season, he led the Huskies to the National Championship but lost to the Michigan Wolverines. Only one question remains, can DeBoer lead the Crimson Tide like Saban?

Information retrieved from University of Alabama Athletics, Facts.net, Saturday Down South, ESPN, and the 60 Minutes Archive.