Michigan Fan Pays Respect at Statue of Now Retired Nick Saban

There's head coaching news everywhere you turn since Monday's College Football Playoff National Championship. One of the biggest pieces of news in the history of the sport hit Wednesday evening as Alabama head coach Nick Saban announced his retirement.

Of course, that means quite a bit to the Michigan Wolverine fanbase as beating Saban's Crimson Tide in the Rose Bowl in overtime is what punched the Wolverines' ticket to the national championship game against Washington, which they won 34-13.

While the Wolverines had the last laugh, Michigan, overall, didn't have a strong track record against Nick Saban during his tenure at Alabama. Their first meeting kicked off the 2012 season, in which Alabama dominated 41-14. Following the 2019 season in which Saban lost starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, Saban's disgruntled team missed the playoffs and took out its frustrations on the Wolverines in the Citrus Bowl, winning 35-16.

However, Saban overall was 7-8 against Michigan, whether as an assistant or head coach - one of the very few situations he doesn't have a winning record. This of course has a great deal to do with his tenure at Michigan State where he went 2-3 as the head coach, winning his first and last meetings against the Wolverines in the rivalry. As a head coach, Saban was 4-4 against Michigan.

His retirement came as equal parts shock and understanding within the Crimson Tide fanbase - with which this writer is very familiar. Following the announcement of his retirement, fans in Tuscaloosa swarmed to the statue of Nick Saban in front of Bryant-Denny Stadium, leaving gifts and mementos to celebrate arguably the greatest college football coach of all time.

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One Michigan fan in the area paid his respects as well, telling the Tuscaloosa Thread "I'm just here to pay respects to the greatest of all time," as he posed for a picture next to the gift-covered statue.

While there will no doubt be plenty of sportsmanship comments from certain Wolverine fans of how the Maize and Blue "retired" Nick Saban, as a graduate of the University of Alabama and fan of the Crimson Tide living in Michigan, I can greatly appreciate TJ's sentiment.