Nick Saban retires: Alabama football coach saw 54 SEC coaching changes with Crimson Tide

Outside of the seven national championships and 11 SEC championships, perhaps no other stat proves Alabama coach Nick Saban's excellence more than the opposing coaches he has outlasted in the cutthroat world of college football.

Throughout his 17 seasons as the Crimson Tide's head coach, there have been 54 different coaches in the SEC — not including interims — but only one in Tuscaloosa. Now, Alabama has a coaching vacancy for the first time since 2007, after Saban informed the program that he's retiring, a source confirmed to The Tuscaloosa News on Wednesday.

Saban ends his career with the most national championships by a coach ever, six of which came during his Alabama tenure. In his 28 years as a head coach at Alabama, LSU, Michigan State and Toledo, he compiled a 297-71-1 record, with 206 of those wins coming with the Crimson Tide. That excellence and longevity naturally saw him witness — and in some cases, influence — coaching changes throughout the league.

MORE: Relive Nick Saban's epic Alabama football coaching career with our special book!

Here's the full list of all 54 SEC coaches since Saban joined Alabama in 2007:

All SEC coaches in Nick Saban's Alabama career

Georgia

• Mark Richt (2001-15)

• Kirby Smart (2015-present)

Arkansas

• Houston Nutt (1998-2007)

• Bobby Petrino (2008-11)

• John L. Smith (2012)

• Bret Bielema (2013-17)

• Chad Morris (2017-19)

• Sam Pittman (2020-current)

Auburn

• Tommy Tuberville (1999-2008)

• Gene Chizik (2009-12)

• Gus Malzahn (2013-20)

• Bryan Harsin (2021-22)

• Hugh Freeze (2022-present)

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Florida

• Urban Meyer (2005-10)

• Will Muschamp (2011-14)

• Jim McElwain (2015-17)

• Dan Mullen (2018-21)

• Billy Napier (2022-present)

Kentucky

• Rich Brooks (2003-09)

• Joker Phillips (2010-12)

• Mark Stoops (2013-present)

LSU

• Les Miles (2005-16)

• Ed Orgeron (2016-21)

• Brian Kelly (2022-present)

Ole Miss

• Ed Orgeron (2005-07)

• Houston Nutt (2008-11)

• Hugh Freeze (2012-16)

• Matt Luke (2017-19)

• Lane Kiffin (2020-present)

Mississippi State

• Sylvester Croon (2004-08)

• Dan Mullen (2009-17)

• Joe Moorhead (2017-19)

• Mike Leach (2020-22)

• Zach Arnett (2022-23)

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Missouri

• Gary Pinkel (2001-15)

• Barry Odom (2016-19)

• Eli Drinkwitz (2020-present)

Tennessee

• Phillip Fulmer (1992-2008)

• Lane Kiffin (2009)

• Derek Dooley (2010-12)

• Butch Jones (2013-17)

• Brady Hoke (2017)

• Jeremy Pruitt (2018-20)

• Josh Heupel (2021-present)

Texas A&M

• Kevin Sumlin (2012-17)

• Jimbo Fisher (2018-23)

Vanderbilt

• Bobby Johnson (2002-09)

• Robbie Caldwell (2010)

• James Franklin (2011-13)

• Derek Mason (2014-20)

• Clark Lea (2021-present)

South Carolina

• Steve Spurrier (2005-15)

• Will Muschamp (2016-20)

• Shane Beamer (2021-present)

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This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Nick Saban retires: Alabama football coach saw 54 SEC coaching changes