Nick Saban retires after legendary career; Bill Belichick, Pete Caroll out in New England, Seattle

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We start this morning with some breaking news, though far from the only coaching news of the last 24 hours: Bill Belichick and the Patriots parted ways early Thursday, ending a 24-year partnership that produced six Super Bowls, three Coach of the Year awards and status as the preeminent franchise in the NFL for two decades. His 302 wins are third all-time; 266 came with New England.

We’ll have plenty more on Belichick, 71, throughout the day — including where he might go next and who might replace him — here

OK, now for more coaching news …

🐐 Good morning to everyone but especially …

NICK SABAN

Nick Saban, Alabama and college football dominance. For nearly two decades, they had been one in the same. That glorious, unparalleled run is now over. Saban, 72, retired Wednesday night, leaving enormous shoes to fill as the face of college football and, arguably, college athletics as a whole.

The numbers are astounding.

• 292–71-1 career record, including 206-29 at Alabama; 292 wins are fourth-most in Division I history
• Seven national championships, most all-time (six at Alabama, one at LSU)
• 49 first-round NFL picks, most of any coach in the common draft era (44 at Alabama)
• Four Heisman Trophy winners: Mark Ingram II (2009), Derrick Henry (2015), DeVonta Smith (2020) and Bryce Young (2021)

The numbers still don’t fully capture Saban’s impact on the sport. He arrived at Alabama in 2007, taking over a storied program that was floundering. He won seven games his first year and reached at least 10 every year thereafter. The 16 straight seasons of double-digit wins is a record. He won with a dominant defense and a pulverizing run game, then with an up-tempo attack and then with quarterbacks and wide receivers that left opponents in the dust. He’s the only coach to win a title in three different decades. It was that willingness and ability to adapt that took the Crimson Tide to the top … and kept them there, writes Shehan Jeyarajah.

Saban was exacting and demanding, a true singular force, and he delivered on his impossibly high standards, writes Dennis Dodd.

We could wax poetic about Saban, and he would deserve every bit. But I won’t because everyone’s wondering now: Who’s next?

There are plenty of deserving candidates from Saban’s incredible coaching tree, and the first name on Shehan’s list of potential replacements is one.

• Jeyarajah: “Dan Lanning, Oregon coach — Lanning has emerged as perhaps the top up-and-coming coach in college football. The 37-year-old coordinated Kirby Smart‘s best defense at Georgia before taking over at Oregon and leading the Ducks to a 22-5 record in two seasons. Oregon went 12-2 with a No. 6 finish in the AP Top 25 in Lanning’s second season as quarterback Bo Nix finished as a Heisman Trophy finalist. Lanning also worked as a graduate assistant under Saban in 2015 at Alabama. One hurdle here: Lanning has a massive $20 million buyout tied to his Oregon contract after the previous two coaches both left the Ducks for programs in the South. Alabama can afford it, but it would be pricey for a young coach with only two years experience in the role.”

Here’s more on the end of an era — the greatest era in college football history.

• Reactions and tributes
• Saban’s players in NFL playoffs

😊 Honorable mentions

• Victor Wembanyama notched his first career triple-double and only needed 22 minutes to do so. It’s the second-fastest triple-double ever.
• The Timberwolves-Celtics battle of conference leaders did not disappoint: Jayson Tatum (45 points) propelled Boston to a 127-120 overtime win. The Celtics are 18-0 at home, the best start in franchise history
• Less is more when it comes to college basketball arenas, writes Matt Norlander.
• Isabel Gonzalez has an excellent story on South Carolina, Dawn Staley and star freshman MiLaysia Fulwiley.

🏈 And not such a good morning for …

PETE CARROLL

On Monday, Pete Carroll said he’d “love to” return as the Seahawks head coach and later reiterated, “I plan to be coaching this team.”

The team had different plans. Carroll is out as Seattle’s head coach after 14 seasons. He was also the executive vice president of football operations, so there are two huge roles to fill. He will remain with the team as an adviser. 

• Carroll, 72, went 137-89-1 in Seattle. From 2012-2020 the Seahawks made the playoffs eight times, went to two Super Bowls (including the franchise’s only Super Bowl title in the 2013 season) and posted the second-best record in the NFL.
• Over the last three seasons, though, Seattle was just 25-26, including a playoffs-less 9-8 this season. Seattle hasn’t had a playoff win since the 2019 season.
• Carroll’s 170 NFL wins are tied for 15th in league history.
• Bryan DeArdo ranked the top 10 moments of Carroll’s time with the Seahawks.

Carroll’s tenure was highlighted by the hard-hitting, trash-talking “Legion of Boom” defense featuring All-Pros Bobby Wagner, Richard Sherman and Earl Thomas and balanced by offensive stars Russell Wilson and Marshawn Lynch. 

As Carroll said Wednesday, the players make the league. But Carroll was a joy, with unbridled energy and passion even as the NFL’s oldest head coach, and I’ll miss that. The NFL is a business, but it’s easy to forget the people that business impacts, and Carroll is one of the game’s true characters.

There are now eight head coach openings, and Cody Benjamin has five potential Carroll successors. No. 1 is a natural fit.

• Benjamin: “Dan Quinn, 53, has the most obvious ties to Carroll and the Seahawks, hence Seattle already eyeing him as a possible successor, per CBS Sports Lead NFL Insider Jonathan Jones. Before running Dallas’ playmaking defense and serving more than five years as the Falcons‘ head coach, Quinn made a name for himself as Carroll’s defensive coordinator from 2013-2014, the two seasons Seattle’s ‘Legion of Boom’ unit propelled a pair of Super Bowl appearances.”

😥 Not so honorable mentions

• The Warriors suffered their largest home loss of the Stephen Curry era. Curry says he’s booing himself.
• The Bears fired offensive coordinator Luke Getsy and several other coaches.
• Connor Bedard will miss six to eight weeks after undergoing jaw surgery.
• Darko Rajakovic brought the heat on this rant about referees.
• Aubrey Griffin (torn ACL) is done for the season. She’s the fourth UConn player with a season-ending injury.
• Michigan suspended Dug McDaniel for six road games.
• The “Irrelevant Bowl” doesn’t seem to be happening.

😲 No. 3 Kansas, No. 5 Tennessee fall as college basketball craziness continues

In the NFL, it’s any given Sunday. In college basketball, it’s any given winter weeknight, anywhere in the country. One night after Nebraska took down No. 1 Purdue and Iowa State handed No. 2 Houston its first loss of the season, UCF upended No. 3 Kansas, 65-60, and Mississippi State topped No. 5 Tennessee, 77-72.

It’s the first time ever four top-five men’s basketball teams have lost to unranked opponents in a two-day span.

UCF’s win is a true stunner. The Knights lost their first conference game as a Big 12 program by 25 to Kansas State on Saturday. But Jaylin Sellers and Darius Johnson combined for 35 points, and Kansas committed 17 turnovers. It’s the highest-ranked win in UCF history. The Jayhawks had been squeaking by, and their poor play finally caught up to them, writes Cameron Salerno.

• Salerno: “Kansas needed a heroic effort down the stretch to beat Indiana last month. Just this past weekend, it nearly lost to unranked TCU to start conference play. Kansas gets a pass for now, but a track record of poor play against inferior opponents is alarming. Former highly-touted recruit Elmarko Jackson has certainly shown flashes of his four-star potential this season, but the young wing was held scoreless for the second consecutive game after playing 20-plus minutes in both. If Kansas wants to reach its full potential, it will need more from him.”

Mississippi State, meanwhile, got 25 points from freshman guard Josh Hubbard and 23 more from stud senior big man Tolu Smith, including the go-ahead three-point play with under 15 seconds left. It’s the program’s first top-five win since 2002.

It wasn’t just the men’s game, either: The Kansas women routed previously unbeaten No. 4 Baylor, 87-66. The Jayhawks outscored the Bears 50-29 in the second half.

💰 Kawhi Leonard signs extension with Clippers

Board man gets paid indeed. Kawhi Leonard agreed to a three-year, $152-million extension with the Clippers. Leonard, 32, had a player option for next season but is now signed through 2026-27. The team is also working on an extension for Leonard’s fellow star wing Paul George.

Leonard and George have shown moments of excellence but have struggled to stay healthy and have had several disappointing playoff flameouts, often due to injury. This year, though, they have played together in 31 of 37 possible games, and Leonard has been terrific, averaging 24 points on his best shooting percentage (51.8) since 2013-14.

L.A. is 24-13, fourth in the West.

📺 What we’re watching Thursday

🏀 Nets vs. Cavaliers, 2 p.m. on NBA TV
🏒 Rangers at Islanders, 7 p.m. on ESPN
🏀 Celtics at Bucks, 7:30 p.m. on TNT
🏀 Miami at No. 11 Virginia Tech (W), 8 p.m. on ACC Network
🏀 Michigan State at No. 10 Illinois (M), 9 p.m. on FS1
🏀 Suns at Lakers, 10 p.m. on TNT