He ran around for 17 years as the head coach of the University of Alabama football program with a strict schedule, but Nick Saban continues to now settle in to a new era of being retired.
After winning national championships, Southeastern Conference Championships, crowning four Heisman Trophy winners, and producing 100-plus players in the National Football League, Saban is now doing things he may have taken for granted while coaching.
He had several of his former players embrace him Wednesday at Bryant-Denny Stadium at his Nick’s Kids function.
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Saban enjoys being an advisor to the program, but the civilian part of him is still coming to terms with no longer having the hectic schedule of coaching in the Southeastern Conference.
Terry Saban, Nick Saban’s wife since 1971, has been by his side through the highs and lows of coaching.
She is now navigating him through retirement and gave people a hilarious inside look at how the former coach is handling things. WVTM, the NBC affiliate in Birmingham, Ala., captured the moment of Miss Terry explaining Saban’s progression. He can still be the fiery coach at times, even when it comes to stopping at a traffic light.
After 17 years at the helm of one of college football’s greatest dynasties, the transition to civilian life could be a major leap. Nick Saban hasn’t fully made that leap just yet, but the “quick learner” is taking baby steps, according to his wife: https://t.co/QtJSoR15a8 pic.twitter.com/OFmhO8lrDt
— WVTM 13 (@WVTM13) August 15, 2024
“People keep asking me what our retirement roles are like at home,” Terry Saban said.
“Nick now knows where most of the light switches are in our house. He has improved his texting from one word per minute to 1.5 words per minute. We can almost get through a whole red light without him rumbling, saying ‘how long is this thing going to last?’ We stopped at McDonald’s the other day and out of Nick’s window he placed an order and I offered him a credit card. He said ‘they take credit cards at McDonalds?’ But, he is a quick learner. He has learned that after he plays golf, he should stay and play cards.”
Saban is learning how to take the “bull by the horns” in retirement, and Miss Terry is teaching him.
It will be a different football season without him on the sideline, but Saban always will support the Crimson Tide.
He looks forward to see what Kalen DeBoer does with this year’s team.
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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.
