Nick Saban’s daughter says father’s retirement is ‘bittersweet moment’ in Instagram post

Nick Saban’s retirement earlier this week marked the end of one of the greatest eras in college football.

The 72-year-old decided to call it a career after coaching in some capacity since 1973.

He won seven national championships — the most ever by a Division I football coach — six with Alabama and one with LSU.

Plenty of farewells flooded social media, including one from Saban’s daughter, Kristen Setas.

Setas posted on her Instagram story that her father’s retirement is a “bittersweet moment” before typing out a longer message.

“My phone froze 5 times and shut itself off. My inbox is full (of lovely supportive messages, thank you),” she wrote, via the New York Post. “I’ll say something eventually. So many emotions at the moment. Football is my life. Watching my dad accomplish so many things one after the other for so many years has been incredible and I am so thankful to witness the history I’ve seen him make.

“Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your messages, your Alabama football stories (please send more) and your love. Alabama forever. Roll Tide forever. I love you.”

Saban boasts an all-time record of 292-71-1 at the college level, including a 19-12 record in bowl games and a 9-5 record in the College Football Playoff. At Alabama, he went 206-29.

Nine of Saban’s 11 SEC titles came with the Crimson Tide, and his 292 wins are fifth-most in Division I history.

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“The University of Alabama has been a very special place to Terry and me,” Saban said in a statement. “We have enjoyed every minute of our 17 years being the head coach at Alabama as well as becoming a part of the Tuscaloosa community. It is not just about how many games we won and lost, but it’s about the legacy and how we went about it. 

“We always tried to do it the right way. The goal was always to help players create more value for their future, be the best player they could be and be more successful in life because they were part of the program. Hopefully, we have done that, and we will always consider Alabama our home.”

Saban had coached Alabama since 2007 with prior stops at Kent State, Syracuse, West Virginia, Ohio State, Navy, Michigan State, the Houston Oilers, Toledo, the Cleveland Browns and LSU.

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