Texas fan here. With all due respect to the great Bear Bryant, there is only one GOAT. It’s Nick Saban.

I am so thankful Nick has been our coach. I've had the pleasure of living through the Paul Bear Bryant era , the Gene Stallings era and now the Nick Saban era. We have been very fortunate to have each of them. I wish Stallings could have stayed but his son was more important and that should be the case. Here in the greatest state in the country Alabama our coach is more important than our Governor is. It's no doubt Alabama will find a great coach but he will have big shoes to fill. God bless Nick Saban and I hope he has a fine retirement.

It's just incredible what the man did. 6 national championships, 4 Heisman trophys, 3 Heisman runner ups..He helped Alabama get past Coach Bryant. How in the world is something like that even possible?

Coach Saban used to whip everybody. He even went out with an SEC champion and made the college football playoff in his very last season. Just excellent!!!

I feel like I’ve lost a family member. For 17 years of watching football, Saban has been there as the standard of greatness. The news is hard to hear. Thank you Coach 🙏🏼

I started following Bama in 1987 while in basic training at Ft McClellan. As Paul and others have pointed out, after Gene Stallings, it was tough being a fan back then, but there was always hope that it would get better one day. These past 16 years have been magical. And not just Bama fans, but all of college football owes Nick Saban a debt of gratitude we will never be able to repay. All you hear from former players is how Coach Saban changed their lives forever and turned them into men. That's his greatest achievement in my opinion.

As a gamecock My hats off to this man a legend is gone but not forgotten

I am in tears.. I was not ready for this.

Not a bama fan but he’s truly the goat. That dude was just an insane coach

Saban is the best coach in college football history, period. The man has a list of sec titles and national championships to prove it. He did what he came to do, win and put Alabama back on top, much respect to him. 💯💯💯

Great job on video thx Nick what a ride it has been and RTR!!

This is SO well done. It should be seen by ALL CFB fans... From a UGA fan, well done Paul ❤️🖤 Awesome tribute to the greatest

I am going to miss you coach. Thank you for an amazing 2 decades of Alabama dominance that my father, and my children got to be a part of.

Thank you nick.saban for all your years at Alabama. Your the best .

ending in silence with Nick looking over his team at some point this year was a great sentiment

Salute. Nothing but respect. Ain’t a Bama fan but Saturdays down south won’t be the same anymore with this man on TV. Congrats on a great career and thank you for all the memories.

Long like the king 👑!

The Tom Brady of college coaching. The GOAT...Nick Saben.

As a Miss State fan move love for you Nick Saban 🫶🏻💯🗣️ thanks you for the game of Football 🗣️🗣️💯💯🫵🏼🙏🏼giving him his flowers 💐

I know this was poetry in motion just watching Saban carve up each school he faced and some several times but I am glad Saban in good health steeped down and at my age I may or may not ever see anything like this guy again...

🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 Cheers for everything, Coach! The 🐐

Paul, Nick Saban will go down as the greatest coach in college football in my lifetime! Coach Bryant was born for Bama. Seven Nattys will never be matched!

Thank you Paul for this great piece and thank you coach Saban for all the memories

I attended the A-Day game in Tuscaloosa in 2007 and saw Nick Saban walk on to field of Bryant Denny Stadium for the first time. As a testament of the selllout of the stadium and the thousands had to be turned away by the fire marshall because there was no more room, the excitement that day, after years of mediocrity, was overwhelming and of wonder if this guy could resurrect our program. Coach Sabam exceeded all the expectations with all the Nattys and bowl wins in a classy business like process. His love for the University, the players and mentoring them for life after football was unequal and he loved the fans. We will never be able to adequately show our appreciation to the GOAT 🐐 and to his wife and family. Wishing Coach and Ms Terry all the best in your well deserved retirement. The sidelines will never be the same without you Coach but the love and admiration from the BAMA NATION will never equalled for Coach and his wife. I will cherish that gameday program i have sealed up from His first appearance as the new Alabama HC. ROLL TIDE 🐘 🐘 🐘

I went to Bama from 2000 to 2004. We stank. And my parents got to go during the peak Bryant years. All my young life I heard tales about the glory Bryant years and never understood. Saban let us younger fans live those days. Thanks Coach!

Headline is still hard to believe but to his legacy is permanently cemented would still be an understatement.

Alabama has had the privilege of having the 2 greatest college football coaches, of all time, coach their football team. i have been lucky enough to see 10 of the National Championships. The more they win the more you want the team to win, again. Thank you, Coach Saban. It has been our pleasure to watch you work.

Thanks Coach. You made us proud and you gave us back a pride in the program and university that had been missing for 15 years before you arrived and took the reins, Congratulations on a well deserved retirement. God bless Coach Saban and Miss Terry.

Love my coach❤ have a wonderful retirement..You and Ms Terry enjoy life❤

The GOAT! Thanks for everything Coach! There will never be another. Enjoy those grandkids and Mrs Terry! Roll Tide!

Thank you Nick Saban.

Happy Retirement Coach Saban The GOAT

Love it Love it Love it! TY Coach Saban, for the greatest memories, I've ever enjoyed as a die-hard Bama fan!

His career epitomizes everything that every coach, teacher, or motivator should strive for. His toughness demanded your all, and in return you received his all, because he held no one to a higher standard than he did himself. My favorite Nick Saban quote was when he was asked about the pressure and expectations of coaching at Alabama. He simply said that "pressure is when other peoples standards of your work are higher than your own". Meaning if your personal standards are where they're supposed to be, and you are holding yourself to that, you shouldn't feel pressure. Profound. And true.

I will always miss u Nick

Well the legend is off but not forgotten.

That’s what greatness looks like

I wasn’t around for Bear Bryant, but have been around for Saban. He’s the best coach of college football within my lifetime.

Hail to the king.

Going to go sit under the shadow of our own trophies now. I won't see another one like Saban in my lifetime. RTR

Simply a class act!

Great piece from Paul Finebaum.

Well written Paul. I am not an SEC fan, but Saban seems a good guy.

Thanks for 17 LONG SEASON Nick Saban with 9 SEC Titles, 4 Heisman Trophies, 6 National Championships, 32 First Round Draft Picks, and 54 Coaching Changes in the SEC from 2007 through 2023.

Roll tide

Thank you God for sending your nephew Nick to coach the tide 🙏🏻

No question as to who the GOAT is. Coach Saban you will be missed. Saturdays will not be the same.

I love Nick Saban , he will be missed. I hope he finds peace in retirement.

Looking back I think Kirby knew something with how he was talking to Nick before the game. It was like he's saying his last goodbye to him as opposing coaches

GR8 tribute

This is very touching, but he isn't dead.

Legendary Nick saban 🐐 Roll Tide

It’s the end of an era. We have seen the last time Paul Finebaum glazes Nick Saban as the current Head Coach of Alabama.

I'M NOT CRYING YOU ARE

Good job. Good luck! Roll Tide!

Finebam got harbaugh to smooch

"Growing up in probation and irrelevance... Nick Saban gave me the Alabama Football that had only existed in the bedtime stories my father told me. He gave us the Alabama Football we were promised"

Love and Respect Coach Saban may he enjoy retirement! GO DAWGS!!!

I'm not crying, you're crying 😭😭😭😭😭

Roll Tide Forever.

Hope he has a long and happy retirement. RTR!

When did they make this paul sounds so much younger

Yeah i like that i think no i know im returning as an Alabama fan myself yeah it's time for all of this to end at least for me this is where i get off

Nick Saban not only made Alabama the best team in college football, he made the SEC the most dominant conference in college football as every university poured millions of dollars into their coaches, facilities, recruiting budgets, etc., to find a way to stop him. Look at his coaching tree: Smart, Kiffin, Sarkisian, Lanning...all finished in the Top 10 this year, and that's only a fraction of the coaches that have worked under his tutelage. Would Georgia have won Back-To-Back national championships if Coach Smart hadn't spent what...10 years?...working under Saban? That being said, I believe I speak for every non-Alabama SEC fan when I say "Thank God he's retired!". :)

Guy college will not be same it's to much bs going on in college football, it's truly player all over the place it's going to hurt the NFL alot because alot players are truly not getting developed, coach have know control any more, don't want to compete everybody think they can just build a team with bunch of guys in transfer portal guys don't be more coach will soon follow, college football is water down, bowl games will have less people in them lol,

Paul Bear Bryant GOAT 🐐 Saban GOAT 🐐 I choose Bear 🐻

RTR

Wow, with Saban gone, who will Finebaum suck up to now?

The plantation is on fire. Michigans win was the emancipation proclamation

Two faced Paul was cursing Saban just months ago.

Deborah will win a natty at bama in 2025!.

Goat yeah right

He only lost one SEC Championship game, 8-1. Only 4 TEAMS have more SEC championships than him. That will never be done again.

C'mon people...Yes Saban was awesome. However..its not difficult to establish a dynasty when you have ALL the top players. He wouldn't have NEAR the success in this NIL/transfer portal environment we now have. Lots of teams now have access to these top players. Many non-SEC teams are near the top.

Roll Tide always

Maybe Pete Carroll and nick saban are going to reverse coaching jobs?

Paul mouthed off earlier this year and maybe last dissing Coach. Dissing Greg Byrne about Eli not going to OOT games! I don’t care to hear or see anything he says or does!

Well Paul your gonna have a new backside to kiss next year. Pucker up.

Will this be the end of Paul Finebaum?

His WR hit a girl in the face coming off the field at Neyland in 2022. He took up for him and played him the next game. Be careful with your adoration, Finebaum.

Paul Finebaum has no right to talk about Saban ever again. A massive hater who attacks the man constantly to get more attention. Let his show die

Of course finebaum would be the narrator 🤡

Dude paid blue chips millions under the table the past 2 decades, that's his only legacy. At Michigan State he was 34-24-1, he aint nothing without that dirty bagman money and neither is Bama. Harbaugh proved this was true 😂😂😂

Do what old men do and retire 😂

Greatfull I got to whiteness the nick saban era

Scared of the competition

good job, he will be missed

Don’t taint Saban with this clown. He is a joke, dude wants to sit there and act like he knows everything especially over the coaches because he thinks his opinion matters because he covers football for ESPN.