“Nick Saban represents what is good about CFB” - LSU HC Brian Kelly reflects on sadness months after $80M worth Alabama legend's retirement

Nick Saban's retirement came as a shock to every college football fan who loves the game.

After spending 16 glorious years creating a legacy at Alabama, Nick Saban, who has a net worth of $80M (as per Celebrity Net Worth), decided to give up the throne on Jan. 11, 2024. Soon after, Alabama put up a tough fight but lost to Jim Harbaugh's Michigan at the Rose Bowl showdown.

Former Notre Dame HC Brian Kelly, who spent 11 years with the Fighting Irish before taking the reigns of LSU in his hands, recently opened up about what Nick Saban's departure meant for him.

Kelly said:

"Nick is certainly, to me, the bar, but it’s now the entire top end of the SEC. It’s Kirby Smart. It’s every school now in the SEC that you play, week in and week out. That challenge is still there when you play in the SEC.

"I’m sorry to see Nick go. I think he represents what is good about college football, for me. But, look, I think everybody comes to a time and a place where they go, you know what, all the championships that he’s won, he can name his time and place."

"For me, he wasn’t the singular reason that I came. I wanted the SEC challenge, and Nick was the face of that," the LSU coach said.

Did Brian Kelly ever consider taking the Michigan job?

It's safe to say that Brian Kelly is one of the most sought-after coaches in the college football world. That is fairly translated into his contract with LSU, which includes $400,000 as base pay and rising supplemental compensation of $8.6 million, including many other incentives like a $1.2 million interest-free home loan.

Brian Kelly with LSU players

When Jim Harbaugh announced that he would be moving to the NFL, many candidates were seen as favorites, including Lance Leipold, Matt Rhule and even Kelly.

The LSU HC recently spoke about what went through his mind during the decision:

"I really didn’t think much about it. I think if my ears were interested in listening to that stuff, maybe it would affect me, but I have no interest in that. I have great respect for what Michigan has accomplished as a football program.They’re the all-time winningest program, but I knew that when I was at Notre Dame. So, it wasn’t anything new."

"This was a conscious decision to come to LSU because I wanted to be in this conference. It was much more than an individual school as much as it was, collectively, I wanted to play in the SEC and play the competition that’s here," Kelly said.

It would be interesting to see how Brian Kelly and the LSU crew perform in the upcoming 2024 CFB season, especially after the departure of 2023 Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels.