Eli Gold, the legendary voice of the Alabama Crimson Tide who called Alabama games long before Nick Saban arrived, has two schools of thought about Saban's surprising retirement announcement last week.

During an appearance on Rick and Bubba's college show, Gold talked about the coach he admires and how he feels about Saban leaving his coaching position.

“I'm personally and selfishly sad, but I'm also very happy for him and Miss Terry, the children and the grandchildren. I'm glad they all get to spend time with Coach now. I'm just excited. But yeah, I'm sad that I won't be able to work with him anymore — but that's how life is, right?” Gold said.

Gold went on to say that while Saban likes the fact that the players are getting paid, he wonders if the transfer portal and the NIL had anything to do with the timing of Saban's departure. Ta.

“He's totally in support of it, but given how it works and how the portal works, I don't know if that wouldn't have hastened his departure a little bit. I hate that, selfish , I hate it,” he said.

In a separate interview on Mobile's 105.5 WNSP FM, Gold spoke about Saban's traits as a perfectionist.

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“Nothing came out of his mouth that wasn't well thought out or had a clear outcome on the ground. It was great to see him formulate everything he did. It was really amazing. He was the closest thing to a perfectionist I've ever seen. I never saw him get caught off guard, and even when he was caught off guard, He had the ability to answer that, but he's a really special guy,” Gold said.

Gold, who was hospitalized with cancer last season, also shared personal anecdotes about Saban's character and what makes him truly special.

“He's a really, really nice guy. He cares about me and when I was sick, he and Miss Terry were always checking on me. Ten years ago when I hurt my knee. When I got bruised, he called me right away. He even sent me a coach-specific sweatsuit to help me rehab. He's a really nice guy.”

Michael Brauner is a senior sports analyst and contributing writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @MBraunerWNSP