Nick Saban and Pete Carroll step away from coaching on the same day — and that’s only half the story

Saban and Carroll stepped away from coaching on the same day, but they’re also linked in a different, mind-blowing way.

What a day this was. Wednesday, January 10, 2024. We are going to be talking about this day for quite some time. Two of the greatest football coaches of this or any other generation, Nick Saban and Pete Carroll, both stepped away from coaching within hours of each other. Carroll went first, moving into an advisory role with the Seattle Seahawks. Saban went second, dropping the bombshell announcement that he was retiring from coaching, his legacy secure as the greatest coach of the 21st century in major college football. His achievements belong in the same conversation as Alabama icon Paul “Bear” Bryant, and many would tell you they are even greater than what the Bear achieved.

We’ll give you the reactions to this remarkable day in football, but before we do that, we have to share you a fact which links Saban and Carroll in football history. You might already know this, but if you don’t, you’re going to be blown away by it.

Here we go: