WATCH: 7x title winning coach Nick Saban walks out of the Mal Moore Athletic Facility for the final time as he bids adieu to Alabama

Alabama Crimson Tide's HC, Nick Saban, announced his retirement news on Wednesday and finished an illustrious 17-year career. On Saban’s final departure from the Mal Moore Athletic Facility, followers and team members bid farewell.

He was the guiding force­ behind 9 SEC victories, 6 national­ championships, and 4 Heisman Trophy wins for the Crimson Tide.

Saban revealed the inner struggle that drove his choice, saying that the most difficult element was determining how his decision would affect everyone in the building.

"The thing that made it more difficult for me is, I felt it might be the right time for me, but how it impacted the players, the coaches, all the people who worked there in the building and contributed to the success of the team, how it would affect them. That was the hard part," Saban said

Nick Saban reflects on retirement: The decision and denying health concerns

Nick Saban's retirement decision revealed late on a somber Wednesday afternoon, caught many off guard.

Despite speculations about his health playing a role in the choice, Saban clarified in an interview with ESPN's "SportsCenter" that it was the relentless grind of the football season, not health issues, that prompted his departure.

"This last season was grueling," Saban said. "It took a little more out of me than usual, and when people mention the health issue, it was really just the grind of can you do this the way you want to do it? And if I couldn't make a commitment to do that in the future, I thought maybe this was the right time."

With a coaching career spanning 28 years, Saban blusters an impressive record of 292-71-1, including 11 SEC titles and 7 national championships.

Changing landscape of college sports

Recently, fame­d hoop mentors like Roy Williams, Mike Krzyze­wski, Jay Wright, and Jim Boeheim have also re­signed.

Deion Sanders hints that fresh components, like NIL privile­ges for athletes and the­ switch gateway, have brought new challenges to the coaching world.

The relentless year-round recruiting process, now extending to players on their teams, demands extra hours and adaptability from coaches.

This developing dynamic offers both a practical difficulty and a potential philosophical clash with the direction of collegiate athletics for the old guard, who are accustomed to building rosters over numerous seasons.