Nick Saban was going to retire from coaching the Alabama football program at some point, but people did not know when.
The moment came on Jan. 10, a week after the Crimson Tide fell to Michigan in the Rose Bowl Game.
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Saban shocked college football by announcing to his players first and then it reached the media of his retirement. Alabama fans were surprised and saddened to see the six-time national champion in Tuscaloosa (Ala.) walk away. Saban’s family had known for the last five years that his retirement could come at any moment. His daughter, Kristen Saban Setas, gave a hilarious account on The Next Round Show via WJOX 94.5 FM in Birmingham on where she was when the news broke about her dad retiring.
Setas was on an airplane to Disney World in Orlando, Fla.
Kirsten Saban found out about her dad’s retirement at 30,000 feet 🤣 pic.twitter.com/v0ApljdQZg
— The Next Round (@NextRoundLive) June 3, 2024
“That morning I kind of got a little heads up,” Setas said about knowing Saban’s retirement was coming.
“We treat every year, especially the last five to 10 years, like he might. He has talked about it before and five years ago, he was like ‘maybe this might be the year.’ And then it wasn’t and so he keep going. We treated every year like it could be the last, but it felt different this past season. That morning, my mom was like ‘maybe, maybe not, but don’t be surprised if you see something.'”
Setas said on the way to Orlando she got a text from a friend that works for Tuscaloosa News.
The friend wanted her to confirm a tweet from ESPN’s Chris Low that announced Saban’s retirement.
“I was on a plane with my son to go to Disney World, and I had just bought the Southwest wifi,” Setas said. “My phone is just blowing up and I’m like, ‘oh my God, what is going on?’ Chris [Low] is great and everything that comes from him is going to be the real deal. I said, ‘what do you mean about Chris’ tweet, and I pulled up Instagram and it was the first article I saw about retiring.'”
Setas said she could not call or text anybody at the time.
“I’m like, ‘dad okay are you doing this? Am I finding out on Instagram on my way to Disney World?'” she said.
Setas was as surprised as everyone else at the news, but she has been okay since then. She is happy with Saban enjoying his retirement as he has more time to spend with family. He still gets his competitive itch out through golf and checking on the current Alabama football team, yet Tide fans are thankful for he did in 17 years. They are ready to see what Kalen DeBoer does.
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Stephen M. Smith is the senior writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @CoachingMSmith.
