If you’re a college coach looking to add another talented player to your roster, the clock is now ticking after the announcement of Nick Saban retiring at Alabama.
After the announcement of his departure, Alabama players will now have a 30-day window to explore their opportunities outside of Tuscaloosa. Being able to play for Nick Saban is one of the biggest selling points for Alabama, but with that no longer a factor, some players will start looking around.
So, if you’re the control tower operator at the Tuscaloosa Regional Airport, prepare for private planes to start lining up for clearance to land.
The college football world is now on-notice, and collectives around the country are putting together enough cash to buy a player through NIL. We will now see one of the biggest attempted raids in the history of the sport, and the folks at Alabama will have to do everything they can to keep this roster intact.
One of the biggest concerns about the potential opening at Alabama was centered around keeping the allure of Alabama up to par. Now, this shouldn’t be a problem considering everything Nick Saban has done, but the ‘Tide will need to move quickly on a new head coach.
For years, this has been the one job coaches have had their eye on, but it comes with a catch. Who wants to be the guy that follows a legend like Nick Saban?
While this will not keep the high-profile coaches away, it will certainly make their job much harder if let’s say Dan Lanning gets the job.
Thirty-Day Portal Window Opens After Nick Saban Retirement
The succession plan is most likely locked away in some type of vault inside the Alabama office, with only Nick Saban and AD Greg Byrne having the code. This type of secret is hard to keep, and Alabama pulled it off, especially two days after the national championship game.
But now the real work begins, with Alabama players likely devastated to know that they will not be playing for Nick Saban in 2024.
“This whole ordeal is going to be fascinating to watch unfold,” one SEC coach told OutKick. “We’ve all seen what happens when a coach is fired and we’re tasked with looking at that school’s roster, but this is different. The allure of Alabama has kept players from taking substantially more NIL money from others, including us. It’s comparable to what Kirby (Smart) is doing right now at Georgia. I wouldn’t be surprised if the new head coach is announced within a week.”
If you’re wondering how quickly something like this can move the needle, I spoke with one Alabama player who had already heard from two opposing coaches within 10 minutes of Saban’s retirement being announced on social media. That’s the game now, and Tuscaloosa is the epicenter of college football at the moment.
Players will have a decision to make on whether or not they signed with Alabama because of the school, or the coach. If it’s the coach, this could lead to talented players taking another look at where they want to play football. But I can promise you that Nick Saban told every player to wait until a new head coach is hired before making a decision.
We all knew that this day would come. Now it’s time to make sure the succession plan goes-off without a hitch, or two.