Saban has two speeches prepared: one to retire and one to stay going. “I kept vacillating back and forth,” Saban subsequently told ESPN. At 3:55, he sat on his chair, staring at the clock. “You have five minutes to decide which speech you’re gonna give.”
The address he delivered stunned the football world, particularly the lives of 423 coaches and staff members whose livelihoods would be impacted by the coaching dominoes that would fall as a result of his retirement.
Five other big college football programs required new head coaches as a result of Alabama’s hiring. The impact eventually reached 38 Power 5 schools, 25 Group of 5 schools, 34 lower-level programs, over a dozen high schools, and ten NFL organisations.
