Last night saw Buffalo Bills RB Damien Harris send shockwaves across the NFL world when he announced his retirement from football. The 27 years old shocked many fans as they believed he still had a lot to give. Interestingly, Harris’ shock retirement decision came just days after the former RB narrated the grief he felt after Nick Saban announced his retirement.
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Speaking a few days ago on The Paul Finebaum Show, Damien Harris revealed that Nick Saban’s retirement decision ‘shook him to the core’. The former Alabama RB and two-time Nation Champion shared a close bond with Saban like most Crimson Tide players. Thus, seeing a father figure like Saban not associated with football anymore must have made Harris feel like a major memory of his life being snatched away. “I tell you it shook me to my core,” said Harris.
He then went on to narrate the crazy story of how he got to know the news. As per Harris, while he was having a golf session with his ex-teammate, the latter eerily asked the RB when Coach Saban would retire. Harris, stumped by the question, mindlessly answered that Coach Saban would continue coaching till his last breath. Fast forward 10 minutes, news broke to Harris that Nick Saban had announced his retirement much to the shock of the RB.
“It came across breaking news, you know Nick Saban retired. And I mean I felt the shake that the whole world of college football felt. We lost more than a coach to the game of football. More than a leader, more than a a creator of Champions but you know. Really just a model figure for the game,” Damien stated.“For what college football is all about, I think especially with the landscape and kind of the trajectory that college football is headed towards, I think guys like coach Saban was an important pillar in just like the Integrity of the game, how the game is supposed to be played the morals, the characters, the values,” he had added.
Damien Harris Announces Retirement With an Emotional Post
Damien Harris became a part of the NFL world when he got drafted by the Patriots in 2019. Since then, he has slowly climbed up the ladder with perseverance amidst a slew of injuries. Despite the setbacks, he went on to have a very respectable career with the Patriots amassing 20 TDs and 2092 rushing yards over his 4 year stint. One of the major highlights of his career during his stint with the Patriots came in 2020 when he became their leading rusher with 691 yards and two touchdowns in 10 games.
“For the past 20 years, playing the game of football has been one of the greatest privileges of my life.”
“The people I’ve met, the places I’ve been and will go on to go, the experiences and memories I’ve made, the impact I’ve been able to make to this point, these are the things that mean the most to me,” Harris continued in his statement. “Gratitude is defined as ‘the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.’ Today I am grateful I have found strength to walk away from the game I love so much.”
