The heart of Nick Saban is massive for Alabama football even with him transitioning into retirement.

He stunned the world on Wednesday when he announced his retirement from coaching, but it may not have come as a surprise to Greg Byrne and the Board of Trustees. Byrne and the Crimson Tide have probably known this move for a while was coming from Saban, but they also know the heart of the 72-year-old that elevate Tuscaloosa (Ala.) as the college football power.

RELATED: WATCH: Nick Saban arrives at Mal Moore Athletic Facility the morning after announcing retirement

According to ESPN's Chris Low, Saban wants to help Alabama coaches and players in his transition.

He arrived at the University of Alabama early Thursday morning to the Mal Moore Athletic Facility.

"I want to be there for the players, for the coaches, anything I can do to support them during this transition," Saban said to Low of ESPN on Thursday. 

His retirement came at 4:00 p.m. Wednesday evening in a team meeting.

Per Low, Saban wanted to be first to give the players the news on his decision. He wants the program to return to winning national championships after he delivered six in 17 years. 

"I wanted them to know how much they meant to me," Saban said to Low about telling the players the news.

"It was hard, all of it was. The last few days have been hard. But look, it's kind off like I told the players. I was going to go in there and ask them to get 100 percent committed to coming back and trying to win a championship, but I've always aid that I didn't want to ride the program down, and I felt whether it was recruiting or hiring coaches, now that we have people leaving, the same old issue always sort of came up -- how long are you going to do this for?"

It was hard for Saban, the coaches, the players, and everyone involved to hear this news.

Saban is playing a role in the new coaching hire, and he still wants to support the Tide.

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Stephen M. Smith is the managing editor and senior writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine.  You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @CoachingMSmith.