Watch: Nick Saban shares why he decided to retire

"I don't think there's any good time [to retire], especially when you're a coach," he said when asked how he knew it was time to say goodbye. 

"The health concern really was just the grind of, 'Can you do this the way you want to do it? Can you do it the way you've always done it and sustain it the entire season?' And if I couldn't make a commitment to do that in the future, I thought maybe this was the right time."

While fans will rightly miss Saban he — like Williams, Krzyzewski and Boeheim before him — is no longer a young man. 

He's 72 years old with a wife and two children. 

He deserves to spend time with his family and friends before age begins to take its physical toll. He deserves to have years of friendly rounds of golf or take family trips abroad. Or go on television or write a book, or anything else he wants. 

But Colorado head coach Deion Sanders shared his own thoughts on X about what could have contributed to Saban's decision, and those of the legendary hardwood coaches before him.  

In the age of Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) rights for players, as well as transfer portal rules that have essentially brought free agency to college sports, the year-round recruiting process now extends to players on your own team. 

Not only do coaches need to recruit high school and junior college prospects, they also need to recruit within their own locker rooms to prevent their best players from jumping ship for a seemingly better opportunity.

For a generation of coaches accustomed to building their rosters over the course of multiple seasons, the combination of the extra hours required and potential philosophical issues with the direction of college athletics, it isn't surprising to see the old guard continue to step away.  

Sometimes, instead of trying to learn new tricks, the best thing for an old dog to do is to find a comfy seat on the sofa surrounded by his favorite people.