“How in the World Did We Screw Up”: Charles Barkley Echoes Deion Sanders’ Frustration as Nick Saban Shocks America With Retirement

Charles Barkley agrees that Nick Saban is the greatest coach in college football history. After spending 17 years as the head coach of Alabama Crimson Tide football, Saban recently announced his retirement. Following this, the 72-year-old Saban received huge praise from the Philadelphia 76ers legend, despite Barkley being from Alabama’s rival Auburn University. But along with the praise, Barkley agreed with NFL legend Deion Sanders that college football actually drove Saban into retirement with its numerous changes.

Deion Sanders recently shared a heartfelt message for Saban as he announced his retirement. But he also wrote, “The game has changed so much that it chased the GOAT away.” This has now invoked a conversation regarding the reason for Saban’s exit.

During a recent episode of the Amber and Ian podcast, Charles Barkley responded to Saban’s retirement. “Coach Saban is the greatest coach ever. I got nothing but admiration and respect for him. You know, I just read the tweet from Deion Sanders. I think he said it best… How in the world did we screw up college football?… Deion said it. We probably need to look in the mirror—we ran the GOAT out of the game,” said the 1993 NBA MVP.

As Barkley went to Auburn, he has refused on many occasions to root for Nick Saban, who is with their rivals, Alabama. But this does not stop Barkley from showing the respect he has for the great coach. However, Saban’s retirement is indeed a great loss for college football.

But are Deion Sanders and Charles Barkley right to assume that Saban retired because of the changes in college football over the years?

Charles Barkley is not a fan of the changes in college football

In recent years, college football has changed significantly from how it used to be. While some coaches, like Deion Sanders himself, have used this to their advantage to bring in top-ranked players to their teams, there are a lot of variables in question.

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The usage of name, image, and likeness, along with the implementation of the player transfer portal, has made it easy for players to move freely among teams. But this has made it harder for the teams to construct a roster capable of winning a championship in the long run.

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Do you agree with Charles Barkley and Deion Sanders that the changes in college football are the reason for Nick Saban’s retirement? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!