Update >> Alabama has formally announced this.
Nick Saban is retiring.
The legendary Alabama head football coach has informed his team he is done and will step away from the game where he shattered records.
Multiple sources confirmed to FootballScoop that Saban is retiring.
ESPN's Chris Low first reported the news.
A West Virginia native who guided LSU to a national championship in 2003 and won six more atop the Crimson Tide program, shattering records every step of the way, Saban steps down following 24 seasons as a collegiate head coach as well as two years atop the NFL's Miami Dolphins.
How rigorously did the fanatically methodical Saban fulfill his role as Alabama head coach till the very end? Multiple sources with direct knowledge told FootballScoop that Saban had conducted numerous interviews for the Tide's open assistant coaching positions within the past 24 hours, including throughout the day on Wednesday.
Sources shared with FootballScoop that Saban had spoken to multiple potential wide receivers coaching candidates, as well as special teams and defensive coordinator candidates within the past 24 hours -- including noted defensive play-caller DJ Durkin.
College football never will see another like Saban.
Consider:
In 24 seasons as a head coach, Saban guided his teams into 31 postseason contests.
His Alabama run set a modern-era record for having 16 consecutive seasons with 10 or more wins.
Saban won national championships in 2003, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017 and 2020.
The Tide fell just short of an opportunity to send Saban off as a national champion one final time when it fell last week to Michigan at the Rose Bowl in the College Football Playoff semifinals.
Saban recently told Pat McAfee on the ESPN host's eponymous show that he was not contemplating retirement.
But Saban last year bought a massive new multi-million dollar mansion in South Florida and also had spoken openly to people within his circle about spending more family time, particularly with his grandchildren.
Saban worked under a contract from Alabama that had been extended through 2029 and which paid Saban among the very-highest salaries in collegiate football at more than $11.4 million per year.
An Alabama Sports Hall of Fame inductee and imminent College Football Hall of Fame inductee, Saban had just won his 292nd career game as a collegiate head coach last month when his Tide stunned then-No. 1 Georgia in the SEC Championship.
Saban posted a 292-71-1 record as a head coach at the college level; he was 15-17 in his two years with the NFL's Dolphins.
In addition to his 19-12 mark in bowl games, Saban guided Alabama to an 9-5 mark in the College Football Playoff, which debuted in 2014.
No team matched Alabama's eight trips into the CFP. since its debut 10 seasons ago.
Saban also coached Alabama's first-ever Heisman Trophy winner, running back Mark Ingram, and then helped lead three additional Crimson Tide players to the honor: Derrick Henry, Devonta Smith and Bryce Young in 2021.
The Tide have dominated the NFL Draft under Saban as well.
Alabama has seen more than 120 of its players under Saban become NFL Draft picks; additionally, Alabama has been the national standard-bearer for first-round picks since Saban took over the Tide program from the fired Mike Shula in 2006.