It’s decision time for Greg Byrne. This is the one that will define his legacy.

Alabama’s athletics director will have to replace Nick Saban, who is reportedly retiring, as the Crimson Tide’s head coach. UA hasn’t had to hire a coach since after the 2006 season.

Now it falls on Byrne. He’s not new to hiring though.

Here are some of the notable hires the Alabama head man has made throughout his time in college athletics.

John Cohen

Back in his Mississippi State days, Byrne had to fill the Bulldog baseball coach role before the 2009 season. He faced pressure from the retiring Ron Polk to promote assistant Tommy Raffo.

Instead, he looked to the man who later became athletic director at MSU before moving on to Auburn for the same job. The hire worked out well, as Cohen took the Bulldogs to an SEC championship and a College World Series runner-up during his tenure.

Cohen retired after the 2016 season.

Dan Mullen

On the football side in Starkville, Byrne had to replace Sylvester Croom, who had been asked to resign after the 2008 season. He looked to Mullen, who joined the Bulldogs fresh off a stint as offensive coordinator at Florida, where he won two national titles.

The hire was a resounding success for Mississippi State. Mullen pulled the Bulldogs into one of their best periods in program history, including a brief moment as the first No. 1 team in the history of the College Football Playoff rankings.

In the Mullen case, Byrne looked to the hot young name in the coaching industry, and it paid off for Mississippi State.

Rich Rodriguez

At Arizona, Byrne took a somewhat opposite tact from his Mullen hire when choosing a head coach for the Wildcats in 2012. He went with Rodriguez, who had been fired by Michigan after the 2010 campaign.

Rodriguez was a veteran head coach, having had a hugely successful stint at West Virginia. He had also once reportedly been tabbed as the Alabama coach before changing his mind, which led to Saban’s tenure.

After being fired by Michigan, he spent a year as a CBS analyst, before Byrne picked him up to coach Arizona, where he remained until being fired after the 2017 season. He now is head coach at Jacksonville State.

Nate Oats

It’s not football. Nothing is Alabama football.

But Byrne’s biggest hire in Tuscaloosa has been successful thus far. Nate Oats, who was coaching at Buffalo before Byrne chose him to lead the men’s basketball team, has led the Tide out of the doldrums.

Alabama basketbal won the SEC tournament in both 2021 and 2023. Since 2019, when Oats was hired, UA has been to the NCAA Tournament three times.

Rob Vaughn

The jury is still out on Vaughn, who hasn’t coached a game yet for the Tide. But Byrne was faced with a difficult situation this past year when former UA baseball coach Brad Bohannon was let go due to a major gambling scandal.

He found Vaughn at Maryland, going with a younger talent.

“The success on the field speaks for itself, but even more impactful were the conversations with those who have played for Rob,” Bryne said in a release announcing the hire.