Nick Saban Has Been Honored By Alabama Paleontologists Who Named A Crab After Him

Alabama coach Nick Saban

Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images


Nick Saban put together one of the most impressive coaching résumés in college football history during a career where he racked up 292 wins and seven national championships. Now, he’s added yet another accomplishment thanks to the paleontologists who named a newly discovered species of ancient crab in his honor.

It was hard to blame Nick Saban for retiring in 2024 following the conclusion of his 17th season as the coach at Alabama, as the man who spent 28 years at that level (as well as two more with the Dolphins during a stint that left a lot to be desired) didn’t really have anything left to prove.

No head coach has won more national championships than Saban did during a legendary career where he got his first one at LSU before heading to Tuscaloosa and earning another six with the Crimson Tide. He’ll always be a legend in Alabama, and paleontologists at the school where he worked for close to two decades have further immortalized him after uncovering the fossils of a previously undiscovered crustacean.

Nick Saban can now brag about having a species of crab named after him

Scientists have the opportunity to get creative when they discover an undocumented organism. There are plenty of egomaniacs who decide to name it after themselves, but many others have opted to honor a famous figure who inspired the species name that supplements the genus in taxonomic identification.

A number of notable names in the world of sports have gotten that particular treatment. Lionel Messi has his own spider, lizard, and condor (among others) named after him, Ichiro Suzuki was honored with a wasp, and Novak Djokovic served as the inspiration for a beetle.

Now, Nick Saban has joined the club courtesy of the 65-million-year-old crab fossils that were unearthed in Lowndes County, Alabama by palentologists who work for the state’s flagship university, which have officially been dubbed Costacopluma nicksabani.

According to AL.com, the crabs in question measured up to .6 inches in length and managed to live “on or in the muddy sea floor” for hundreds of thousands of years after the meteor strike that led to the extinction of dinosaurs.

Congratulations, Coach.