Nick Saban Shuts Down Rumors He Could Return to Coaching, 'I Enjoy What I'm Doing'

Former Alabama coach Nick Saban, for the first time, publicly shut down rumors he is considering a return to college football in a Friday morning interview with Fox News.

"There is no opportunity that I know of right now that would convince me to go back to coaching," Saban said at the 5:45 mark of his Fox & Friends interview. "I enjoy what I'm doing.

"I did it for 50 years. I loved it, I loved the relationship with players, I loved the competition. But it's another station of life now. I enjoy what I'm doing right now, and want to continue to do it. Spend more time with my family, my children, my grandchildren. And it's been really, really good."

Saban also criticized the initial reports connecting him to a potential return to coaching.

"It's amazing to me that that came up in the media, and the media speaks for you and thinks for you," Saban said.

He went on to joke, "I never really ever had a thought about getting back into coaching until, two days ago, Miss Terry said I had run the sweeper downstairs. While I was running the sweeper, the thought occurred to be: when you were coaching, you had a heck of a lot better job than this. So that's the only time I considered it."

Saban, 73, retired from coaching in January 2024 after 17 seasons and six national titles with Alabama. He began his career as an analyst for ESPN during the 2024 season.

He won his first Sports Emmy Award as an "Outstanding Personality/Emerging On-Air Talent" following his first season behind the ESPN desk.

"I'm really happy with what I'm doing right now," Saban said. "It's exciting to still be involved in the game. It's exciting for me to work with athletic directors, conference commissioners, people in Congress to preserve the integrity of our game and continue to be able to create opportunities to help young people create value for their future that will help them be successful in their life, which is what we always try to do as a coach."

The rumors surrounding Saban's potential return began with speculation by former Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy, which led to questions regarding the former coach's potential return at SEC media days.

Ole Miss coach and former Alabama assistant Lane Kiffin further stoked rumors when, in response to a July 14 question about whether he would hire Saban on his own staff, answered that Saban is "not going to need me to hire him. I don't think he's done. I think he'll be back. Whether that's college or NFL, I think he'll be back."

Other people connected to Saban were more dismissive of the rumors. Another former Alabama staffer, Georgia coach Kirby Smart, told reporters on July 15 he thought Saban was "too happy where he is" to consider a return to coaching.

Nick Saban’s daughter, Kristen Saban, wrote in a July 17 Instagram story post that her father was "not coming back to coaching, hate to break it to you."

Saban and ESPN's College GameDay crew are set to open the 2025 college football season on Aug. 30 before Texas visits reigning national champion Ohio State.