Six-time national championship coach Nick Saban is retiring, sources told ESPN’s Chris Low on Wednesday.

Saban, 72, is coming off a College Football Playoff semifinal loss in the Rose Bowl to Michigan, the eventual CFP national champion.

“I’ve always said that if you’re thinking about retirement, you’re probably already retired, and I’m not there yet,” Saban told ESPN in November.

Saban went 292-71-1 in 28 seasons as a college head coach, a career that included seven national championships, 12 conference titles (11 SEC, 1 MAC) and 19 bowl game wins.

Saban led the Tide to nine Southeastern Conference championships and won his first national title at Alabama with a 14-0 season in 2009. Titles came again in 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017 and 2020. Alabama was always a contender but had fallen short of the title since then.

He made a two-year foray into the NFL with the Miami Dolphins before returning to college football to revive one of college football’s most storied programs, which hadn’t won a national title in 15 years. Saban is 297-71-1 as a college head coach, with stops at Toledo, Michigan State and LSU, where he also won a national title. But Alabama is where he cemented his status as one of college football’s greatest coaches.

The reaction has been immediate:

“WOW!” Colorado coach Deion Sanders posted on “X,” the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. “College Football just lost the GOAT to retirement. WOW! I knew it would happen 1 day soon but not this soon. The game has changed so much that it chased the GOAT away. College football, let’s hold up our mirrors and say HONESTLY what u see.”

“Coach Saban is the GOAT!!” former Alabama Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram posted. “Thanks for believing in a young man from Flint, Michigan. Helped me become a champion on the field, but more importantly a champion in LIFE. Enjoy retirement Coach, you earned that!! Love you Coach Saban, ROLL TIDE!!”

“Wow!!” Kirk Herbstreit posted. “Surprised but not shocked by Coach Saban stepping down. Best to ever do it. From 2008-2023 he compiled a record of 199-16!!!! That’s an average of 12 wins in the last 16 seasons. As consistent and good as the sport has ever seen! Thank you coach for all you put into the great sport of CFB! Excited to see what’s next!”

Mark Heim is a reporter for The Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Mark_Heim. He can be heard on “The Opening Kickoff” on WNSP-FM 105.5 FM in Mobile or on the free Sound of Mobile App from 6 to 9 a.m. daily.