What ripple effect can Nick Saban retiring have on Coach Prime and Colorado football?

Nick Saban is reportedly retiring. That could fundamentally change college football in the short-term, and affects even Coach Prime and Colorado football. Regarding Saban's retirement, Deion Sanders gave love to his Aflac campaign co-star and who he believes is the G.O.A.T. of college football.

"WOW! College Football just lost the GOAT to retirement," Sanders prefaced before again exclaiming, "WOW! I knew it would happen 1 day soon but not this soon. The game has change so much that it chased the GOAT away. College football let's hold up our mirrors and say HONESTLY what u see."

About those aforementioned ripple effects, though...

Colorado football could benefit from Nick Saban retiring through transfer portal, recruiting flips

Coach Prime taking the Alabama job isn't a realistic option at this point. Dan Lanning, Lane Kiffin, Dabo Swinney, and Kirby Smart are the names to watch, there. If you see Sanders' name linked to the Crimson Tide's coaching vacancy, don't give it an ounce of thought.

Where the Buffs are relevant in the aftermath of Saban's goodbye from Tuscaloosa is in recruiting; where the transfer portal could be where many players take to, and where Colorado could add more talent. The linebacker position is one that could use a Crimson Tide defect, since Alabama players have an extended transfer portal period to take advantage of with the retirement.

Flip season could see an exodus from the Tide too, unless a replacement can be found immediately and keep the players who'd be thinking about ditching a Saban-less Alabama. Coach Prime has proven capable of talking kids away from bigger Power Five programs and to his rebuilding program in Boulder, with Cormani McClain and Omarion Miller coming to mind. Jordan Seaton wasn't a flip, but he helps prove the point of Sanders being a savant at blue-chip recruiting.

It'd be nice to have Charles Kelly on the staff right now, but there's enough recruiting firepower from Coach Prime alone to take advantage of this potential changing of the guard in the SEC -- and the country's college football landscape at large.