Brian Kelly claims ex Alabama coach was the coaching’s ‘standard’ after retirement

Brian Kelly, LSU’s coach, was startled by Nick Saban’s retirement earlier this year. It marked the end of a 17-year run at Alabama that includes six national titles.

Saban won his first at LSU before heading to the NFL and then returning to the SEC, where he dominated for more than a decade.

“First of all, I was surprised,” Kelly remarked of Saban’s declaration during an interview with Paul Finebaum. “We were on a Zoom call the day he made the announcement, and everything was business as usual.

But that’s Nick, correct? He is never the type of guy to take the easy way out. I mean, he’ll work till the last second.”

Kelly faced Saban in the 2013 BCS National Championship, again in the College Football Playoff, and twice during the regular season each of the previous two years.

Kelly defeated Saban for the first time during his first year at LSU, scoring a two-point convert in overtime at Tiger Stadium.

Saban’s teams won an incredible 11 SEC Championships and seven total national championships, the most by any single coach in college football history.

His Alabama teams were ranked first in the Associated Press college football poll for 109 weeks, the most by any program in poll history.

During his time with the Crimson Tide, Saban coached 44 first-round draft picks, a figure that is projected to rise in April during the 2024 NFL Draft.

“He is the standard of what everybody is trying to achieve, and that is incredible consistency at the highest level, championships,” Kelly said of the quarterback. “He’s done it with class and distinction and he set the bar.”

Kelly also talked about LSU’s ambitious 2024 football schedule, which includes a season-opening game versus USC in Las Vegas.

“This is what college football is about,” Kelly stated on Thursday. “This is why I came to LSU: to play this type of schedule. This is an exciting schedule.

It will be a demanding schedule, but if you can manage it, you will be well-positioned for the 12-team playoffs. With this kind of schedule, if you play well, you have a good chance of making the playoffs.