UPDATE: The impact of Saban’s retirement on the 2024 class

Heading into the 2023 college football season, the focus was initially on conference realignment during the offseason. However, as the season unfolded, attention shifted to on-field storylines. Georgia maintained its No. 1 ranking throughout the regular season, while Alabama returned to the College Football Playoff. Notably, Michigan secured a victory over Ohio State for the third consecutive season.

As the regular season concluded, Michigan emerged victorious in the College Football Playoff National Championship by defeating Washington on Jan 8. This marked a significant achievement for the Wolverines, ending their national title drought since 1997. For the previous 17 years, Alabama had been a dominant force in college football.

Unexpectedly, on Feb 1, both Michigan and Alabama found themselves without their national championship-winning head coaches. Just two days after leading Michigan to its first national title in over two decades, Jim Harbaugh, the Wolverines’ head coach, saw the retirement of Nick Saban, widely regarded as the greatest coach in college football. Saban’s retirement set off a series of events, making January one of the most tumultuous months in the history of college football.

The coaching carousel during Thanksgiving weekend in 2021, with Lincoln Riley and Brian Kelly making high-profile moves, seemed noteworthy, but the past three weeks have taken coaching changes to another level, making the previous chaos look insignificant. Nick Saban’s retirement from Alabama triggered a series of domino effects in the coaching landscape.

Kalen DeBoer left Washington to take on the monumental task of replacing Saban at Alabama. This move, in turn, opened the door for Jedd Fisch to leave Arizona and assume the head coaching role at Washington. Fisch’s departure created an opportunity for Brent Brennan to leave San Jose State and lead the Wildcats. To add to the whirlwind, Jim Harbaugh decided to make an NFL return, leading to offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore taking the reins at Michigan.

This coaching carousel frenzy has set off a flurry of recruiting activity, typically a quiet period after the early signing period in December. Saban’s retirement not only impacted Alabama and Washington but also influenced coaching changes at Arizona, San Jose State, South Alabama, and Buffalo. Kane Wommack and Maurice Linguist left their head coaching positions to join DeBoer as assistants.

With Harbaugh leaving Michigan, there were a total of seven head coaching openings in January, creating significant upheaval in the college football coaching landscape just ahead of the traditional National Signing Day on Wednesday, Feb. 7.

The impact of the chaotic carousel on the 2024 recruiting class

Alabama faced some challenges in its 2025 recruiting class, losing five-star quarterback Julian Sayin and four-star wide receiver Jameer Grimsley to the transfer portal, with both players eventually committing to other schools. However, the Crimson Tide received positive news as five-star receiver Ryan Williams reclassified to the 2024 class and chose to stay committed to Alabama, opting not to flip to rival Auburn.

Washington experienced setbacks with its 2025 class, losing four-star EDGE Noah Carter, who followed coach Kalen DeBoer to Alabama, and facing requests to exit from four-star defensive lineman Ratumana Bulabalavu. Additionally, four-star offensive lineman Paki Finau entered the transfer portal, although his destination remains undecided.

Arizona encountered challenges with the departure of four-star All-American quarterback Demond Williams, who initially flipped from Ole Miss but entered the transfer portal and joined DeBoer at Washington. Four-star athlete Rahshawn Clark, who was flipped from Cal, sought release from his National Letter of Intent and is likely to sign with Washington.

These developments, along with various decommitments, have impacted the recruiting landscape for these programs as National Signing Day approaches. Despite Nick Saban’s retirement, his influence continues to resonate, contributing to the evolving dynamics of the 2025 recruiting cycle.