Nick Saban is hanging up the headset.
In a stunning move, the legendary Alabama football coach has announced his retirement on Wednesday.
Saban, 72, exits the sidelines after a dominant 17-year run in Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide went 206-29 under Saban, capturing six national championships and nine SEC titles. Alabama made the College Football Playoff more than any team with eight appearances since the inaugural 2014 season.
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The Saban-led 'Bama program produced almost double the number of NFL first-round draft picks (44) than it had losses on the field (29), according to ESPN.
Saban, who also was a one-time national champion and two-time SEC champion over five seasons at LSU, is the only coach in the poll era of college football to win seven national titles.
The five-time SEC Coach of the Year boasts a career record of 297-71-1 over his 28-year career in the college ranks, which also included stops Toledo and Michigan State, and he never once had a losing season. His 297 career wins rank fifth all time.
From praise to jokes and more, here's how the college football world reacted to Saban's retirement:
