Tag: Retire

Paul Chryst’s best collegiate player announces retirement from NFL

Who is Paul Chryst’s best collegiate player?

No, this doesn’t have a 100% direct relation to Wisconsin Badgers football. But when big news breaks, we try to connect it to the Badgers.

That is the case Friday afternoon when NFL legend Aaron Donald announced his retirement.

The future Hall of Famer calls it quits after a 10-year career that included 543 tackles, 176 tackles for loss, 260 quarterback hits, 111 sacks, 24 forced fumbles, 21 pass deflections, three Defensive Player of the Year awards and a Super Bowl title.

Related: Pre-spring bold predictions for the 2024 Big Ten football season

Donald played his college ball at Pittsburgh from 2010-2013, playing under longtime Wisconsin head coach Paul Chryst in 2012 and 2013. Given that connection, it’s fair to say Donald is Chryst’s best collegiate player.

Jonathan Taylor may have an argument for production in college, as Donald did not blossom until his second year. But we’re counting NFL production and the fact Donald retires as one of, if not the, greatest defensive linemen of all time.

Chryst remains an offensive analyst at Texas entering the 2024 college football season. His name came up for several positions, including Iowa’s offensive coordinator, but the former Wisconsin coach elected to stay put and wait for a different opportunity.

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Former Wisconsin fullback retires from the NFL

Former Wisconsin fullback retires from the NFL

Former Wisconsin Badgers fullback Derek Watt announced his retirement from the NFL Tuesday morning.

Watt played seven years in the league — four with the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers and three with the Pittsburgh Steelers. The fullback retires with 29 total carries, 71 rushing yards, two rushing touchdowns, 18 receptions, 178 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown.

Related: The Pittsburgh Steelers continue to be a popular home for former Wisconsin Badgers

The talented fullback played for the Badgers from 2012-2015, totaling 369 scrimmage yards and one touchdown. His two brothers, T.J. and J.J. Watt, each became Wisconsin legends in their own right, then went on to have Hall of Fame-level NFL Careers. While Derek Watt’s career does not rise to that level, a seven-year career at a position that is becoming a thing of the past is no joke.

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Former Broncos center James Ferentz retires after 9-year NFL career

James Ferentz, who won Super Bowl 50 with the Broncos in 2015, has retired after a nine-year career in the NFL.

James Ferentz has retired after a nine-year career in the NFL, the 34-year-old offensive lineman announced on his Instagram page on Monday.

Some fans may not remember him, but Ferentz played a role in the Denver Broncos’ run to Super Bowl 50 during the 2015 season.

After he entered the league as an undrafted free agent out of Iowa with the Houston Texans in 2014, the Broncos claimed Ferentz off waivers when the Texans cut him ahead of the 2015 campaign.

Ferentz served as a backup rotational lineman that season, playing 55 snaps on offense as Denver went 12-4 in the regular season. He then made an appearance in the AFC Championship game and the Broncos went on to later defeat the Carolina Panthers 24-10 in Super Bowl 50.

Ferentz spent one more year in Denver and then played for the New England Patriots from 2017-2023, starting 10 games. Everyone on the Broncos’ 2015 squad — from big-name stars to role players — contributed to the club’s Super Bowl 50 win, and Ferentz will always have that on his resume.

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QB Teddy Bridgewater retires after 10-year NFL career

QB Teddy Bridgewater, who went 7-7 with the Broncos in 2021, has retired after a 10-year NFL career. He’ll now coach high school football.

After a 10-year career in the NFL, former Denver Broncos quarterback Teddy Bridgewater is hanging up his cleats.

Bridgewater, 31, was a star quarterback in college at Louisville and was picked by the Minnesota Vikings in the first round of the 2014 NFL draft. Bridgewater became Minnesota’s full-time starter in 2015 and he helped the Vikings go 11-5 that year, earning a Pro Bowl nod.

Bridgewater’s career then hit a huge setback when he suffered a serious knee injury that included a torn ACL, a dislocated knee and structural damage in 2016. He then missed the entire 2016 season and half of the 2017 campaign.

After recovering from that injury, Bridgewater became a free agent in 2018 and signed a one-year deal with the New York Jets. Before the season started, New York traded Bridgewater to the New Orleans Saints. He went on to start six games in New Orleans, going 5-0 in the place of an injured Drew Brees in 2019.

Bridgewater finally got another opportunity to be a full-time starter with the Carolina Panthers in 2020, but the Panthers struggled that season, finishing with a 5-11 record.

The following offseason, Bridgewater was traded to the Broncos. He went 7-7 as a starter in Denver before ending the year on injured reserve with a concussion. He then spent the 2022 season with the Miami Dolphins and started two games in the place of an injured Tua Tagovailoa.

Bridgewater spent his final season as a backup with the Detroit Lions in 2023. He now retires from football with a 33-32 record as a starter with 15,120 passing yards and 75 touchdowns against 47 interceptions on his resume.

Bridgewater will now coach high school football in Miami, his hometown.

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Steve Sarkisian appears to be out of the running for Alabama job

Steve Sarkisian’s recent social media post locks him in at Texas. This shortens Alabama’s list of potential head coaches.

Nick Saban’s decision to retire caught just about everyone off guard. While the initial shock of the news still hasn’t settled for many, the main focus has shifted to finding a new head coach for the Crimson Tide. We can now likely cross Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian off that list.

While there isn’t a clear list of candidates and there’s no way to know who has been offered the job, social media takes over when it comes to naming front-runners.

Sarkisian had worked under Saban, was a stellar offensive coordinator for the Crimson Tide and shared a very close relationship with Saban. Many Alabama fans were set on inviting Sarkisian back to Tuscaloosa so that he could carry on the legacy Saban is now stepping down from.

However, late Thursday evening, Sarkisian took to social media, where he shared a post that said “It’s a great day to be a Longhorn!!”

We will never know if Sarkisian was ever approached about the job opening, offered the job, or if he was ever interested in it to begin with. All we (kind of) know now is that he appears content with his current position as the head coach of Texas.

Roll Tide Wire will continue to follow Alabama football as the program searches for a new head coach.

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What Alabama HC Nick Saban’s retirement means for Wisconsin football

What Alabama HC Nick Saban’s retirement means for Wisconsin football

If you haven’t been living under a rock during the last 24 hours, Alabama head coach Nick Saban — arguably the greatest college coach in the sport’s history — announced his retirement yesterday.

If unfamiliar, you can google Saban’s resume. It is second to none.

Historically, these massive coaching transitions didn’t mean much for Wisconsin football and the Big Ten West bubble. The Badgers still operated the same way, nobody was entering to take their recruits or coaches and matchups with the top powers were seldom scheduled.

Well, that bubble is gone as the Big Ten welcomes Oregon, USC, Washington and UCLA and the sport moves toward a two superconference structure. Wisconsin, whether ready or not, must exist on the same plane as the sport’s powers.

So, Saban’s retirement has several effects on the present and future of Wisconsin football. Here they are, succinctly:

Roll Tide Wire writers predict Alabama football’s next coach

RollTideWire writers make their guess as to who will be Alabama’s coach in 2024

On Wednesday, Nick Saban made the shocking and heartbreaking decision to retire from Alabama football and begin a new chapter in his life. Saban cited family reasons and health concerns.

Saban will likely end up being on TV and will be incredibly successful no matter what he does. That doesn’t take away the pain of losing him as head coach. At 72 years old, it is hard to put in 14-hour days, especially with how much the game has changed from name, image, likeness and the transfer portal.

Alabama fans wish Saban the absolute best in retirement, but Crimson Tide football will go on. The prevailing question is who will be the heir to the throne?

I find it hard to believe Saban would up and retire without a plan in place for the university, but it’s difficult to know what happened behind the scenes. Oregon’s Dan Lanning and Ole Miss’s Lane Kiffin have been the two hottest names to this point. Our staff at Roll Tide Wire weighs in on the coaching vacancy:

WATCH: Nick Saban departs Mal Moore practice facility for the final time as head coach

Nick Saban leaves Mal Moore practice facility for the final time as head coach of Alabama

It’s a somber evening in Tuscaloosa, as legendary Alabama head coach Nick Saban shockingly stepped away from the game and announced his retirement.

On Wednesday morning, coach Saban was interviewing potential coaching candidates and doing recruiting due diligence. Then late in the afternoon he shockingly dropped the bombshell to the team that his time was done.

It’s heartbreaking news for Alabama fans nationwide, but a day that was eventually going to come. Going out with an SEC Championship and Rose Bowl (college playoff) berth is nothing to be ashamed of either.

There is no assessing the impact Saban has had on thousands upon thousands of people ranging from former coaches, players, citizens of Tuscaloosa, University of Alabama students and so many more. There will never be another Nick Saban and nobody will ever replicate what he did. But, man, were we lucky to be along for the ride. Nine SEC Championships, six national titles and four Heisman Trophies are just the beginning of the laundry list of accolades he brought to the university.

Students outside of the Mal Moore practice facility waived goodbye to the legendary head coach as he departed for the final time as head coach of the Crimson Tide. College football will go on and Alabama is already well into their hiring process, but this one hurts.

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LOOK: Alabama fans gather around Nick Saban’s statue following retirement news

After news broke of Nick Saban’s retirement, Alabama fans began gathering at the legendary coach’s statue in front of Bryant-Denny Stadium.

Alabama football head coach Nick Saban announced his retirement on Wednesday after 17 years in Tuscaloosa with the Crimson Tide.

Though many believed he would “coach until he croaks,” as one recruit put it, he has made the choice to step away from coaching.

As the news spread, many fans gathered at Saban’s statue in front of Bryant-Denny Stadium at the Walk of Champions. Some brought roses, Coca-Cola bottles and even Little Debbie’s Oatmeal Creme Pies, the coach’s favorite morning-time treat.

Coach Saban is alive and well, despite it appearing as if fans are mourning the loss of a loved one. Their gathering serves not to memorialize a life lost, but to celebrate an era coming to an end.

Gary Cosby Jr.-USA TODAY Sports

Terry Saban makes public statement on Nick Saban’s career

Miss Terry releases a statement regarding Nick Saban’s time as the Alabama football head coach.

The day that many Alabama fans have long feared has arrived: Nick Saban has decided to retire.

While Crimson Tide fans and college football enthusiasts take time to digest this difficult news, Terry Saban, his wife, shared a public statement.

On the Nick’s Kids Foundation Facebook page, “Miss Terry” shares a heartfelt message to all of those who supported her and her husband, who coached football at the University of Alabama.

“It has been an incredible run these last 17 years at the University of Alabama, and we take with us many amazing memories. We hope that the Saban legacy will be about helping others and making a positive difference in people’s lives as well as the winning tradition on the field. Our Nick’s Kids Foundation will continue to help children, student and teacher causes in the State of Alabama. The rules for the game of football may change, but the ‘process’ will never go out of style: hard work, discipline, the relentless pursuit of a worthy goal, not cutting corners, and doing things the right way for the sake of constant personal improvement, not for the scoreboard. Alabama will always feel like ‘Sweet Home’ to our family, and we’ll be cheering ‘Roll Tide’!”

The news is still fresh, but there will likely be many more statements from the Saban family over the next few days.

Roll Tide Wire will continue to follow the news of Saban’s retirement and how the Alabama football program will handle this transition.

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