Photo by Robert Sutton / Crimson Tide Photos / UA AthleticsRobert Sutton

It’s the news few is any Alabama fans wanted to hear.

The news broke Wednesday afternoon that University of Alabama Head Football Coach Nick Saban announced his retirement, after an unparalleled career at the Capstone, after an impressive career at other locales.

His teams won seven national titles – six of them at Alabama.

Sports Illustrated reported Saban was reportedly stepping down, and described his career in this way: “Through 2012 he had a perfect record when a crystal football was on the line. He notched the most wins when ranked No. 1, and beat the team ranked No. 1 the most. He’s the only coach in the modern era to win titles with two different programs, and he’s done so while competing in a conference that was similarly at its own unique level,” Christopher Walsh wrote.

His story online was headlined: “Nick Saban's Legacy is Simple: The Greatest College Football Coach Ever.”

Saban came to the University of Alabama in 2007, a heralded hire after a series of coaches that came nowhere near to restoring the program to the place it had occupied during Coach Paul “Bear” Bryant’s tenure.

Even his critics would likely argree that Saban did that, and more.