Head coach Nick Saban is leaving the Miami Dolphins to accept a job with the University of Alabama, ending his two-year run in the NFL.

Saban told the Dolphins assistant coaches Wednesday morning that he was leaving, accepting an offer that is believed to be worth approximately $40 million over a 10-year period, although there are variable structures within the deal that Alabama put on the table. In the process, Saban left with three years remaining on his five-year contract with the Dolphins. He made $4.5 million annually.

He is expected to become the highest paid head coach in college and the first to top the $4 million per year figure.

However, the overwhelming factor in leaving for Alabama was not money. Dolphins owner Wayne Huizenga had made it clear he was willing to pay more to keep Saban. Rather, Saban had grown frustrated with how to rebuild the Dolphins, thinking the project might be too difficult to accomplish in a short period of time.


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