re: If winning a natty gets Saban to retire, do you pinch your nose and root for the tide?

I just can’t see that premise holding up. It is rare for the highly successful to walk away.

I think a loss, especially in humiliating fashion, would go much farther in getting him to retire in the next few years than another title would.

Another title just reinforces a belief that it still working and probably keeps him around another 4-5 years.