Thursday on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," ESPN's Paul Finebaum weighed in on University of Alabama head coach Nick Saban retiring after a legendary career.
Saban, 72, won seven national championships, six with the Crimson Tide.
Finebaum hinted last week that Saban was "close to the end" and told MSNBC's Joe Scarborough that "there were little signs" the coach was on the brink of retirement.
"There were little signs, Joe. I've been around him a number of times this year, and he is 72, whatever that means, but every time I saw him, he just seemed a little closer to the end. And as the news broke last night, and as I heard from your people in New York, I couldn't help but think back to January 4, 2007, Joe. I was a guest on 'Scarborough Country,' and the topic was how much money they were paying Nick Saban. He was making $4 million a year, and the head of the Alabama Board of Trustees, a coal mining executive said, 'This is outrageous. We shouldn't be paying CEO-type money.' And we all know now Nick Saban has been worth hundreds of millions of dollars to this university, and I think he took that into consideration."
"He took a surprising season. We were here, what, seven weeks ago, talking about the miracle at Auburn. And I think he just felt, win or lose in Pasadena, it was a good time to pass the torch."
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