TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (WIAT) — After nearly two decades of leading the Alabama Crimson Tide, head coach Nick Saban announced on Wednesday that he is retiring.

Saban took over the Alabama football program in 2007 and compiled an official 206-29 record during his time coaching the Crimson Tide.

Under Saban, Bama made 23 bowl game appearances with 16 victories, 10 SEC West titles, nine SEC Championships and won six national championships.

“The University of Alabama has been a very special place to Terry and me,” Saban said in a statement. “It is not just about how many games we won and lost, but it’s about the legacy and how we went about it. We always tried to do it the right way.”

Saban is famed for his sideline scowl and fiery demeanor — and for winning. He has won more national titles than any other major college coach. He won six of his titles during his 17 seasons at Alabama. He won his first with LSU in 2003.

Saban’s wife, Terry, posted about their “incredible run” at Alabama on the Facebook page for Nick’s Kids Foundation.

Alabama head coach Nick Saban leaves the field after their win against Ohio State in an NCAA College Football Playoff national championship game in Miami Gardens, Fla., Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2021. Alabama is No. 1 in the college football Preseason Top 25. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File)

“We hope that the Saban legacy will be about helping others and making a positive difference in people’s lives as well as the winning tradition on the field,” Terry Saban wrote.

Saban began his coaching career in 1973 with Kent State as a graduate assistant. He is 297-71-1 as a college head coach, with stops at Toledo, Michigan State and LSU. But Alabama is where he cemented his status as one of college football’s greatest coaches.

He has also worked with multiple NFL teams, including the Houston Oilers, the Miami Dolphins, and the Cleveland Browns.

“I think he’s the greatest coach in the history of football,” Michigan State basketball coach and longtime Saban friend Tom Izzo said in a telephone interview Wednesday night. “There are a lot of great coaches, but what he’s done and the consistency that he did it — in an era where so many people and things are coming at you — is remarkable.”

Saban’s latest team dealt with plenty of adversity early on, including a loss to Texas, but rebounded with the emergence of quarterback Jalen Milroe to upset then-No. 1 Georgia in the SEC championship game.

Saban didn’t sound like a coach looking to give up the job any time soon after the game. But it wasn’t a bad way to go, even without the title.

“This is one of the most amazing seasons in Alabama football history in terms of where this team came from, what they were able to accomplish and what they were able to do, winning the SEC championship, and really, really proud of this group,” he said.

“I just wish that I could have done more as a coach to help them be successful and help them finish, and all we can do now is learn from the lessons that sometimes failings bring to us.”

SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey feels Saban isn’t done entirely with college football.

“Knowing Nick? He’s not walking away from the game. He’s walking away from a role,” Sankey said.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.