Nick Saban has been a major topic of interest in the sports world over the past few weeks, following growing speculation about a possible return to coaching. The rumors began when his former quarterback, Greg McElroy, suggested that Saban may not be done with football just yet.
“A very much in-the-know person that I have a lot of respect for and have spent a lot of time around, and just really, really admire — they seem to think Nick Saban is not done coaching,” McElroy said. “He's pretty adamant that he thinks Nick Saban will be coaching again.”
Since then, Saban has been linked to various franchises and programs. Some, like The Herd’s Colin Cowherd, believe he could make a return to the NFL — potentially with the Cleveland Browns.
“This is the worst kept secret in the South,” Cowherd said. “Haslam, Jimmy, owner of the Browns — huge SEC, Tennessee booster, leans heavily on the Manning family. Very close to the Manning family.”
“[Nick] Saban is incredibly close not only to Jimmy Haslam, but also to the Manning family as well. So, Saban, if he could land, I'm told, a top quarterback — like Harbaugh going to the Chargers for [Justin] Herbert — he would take a phone call from the NFL. ...This is not a conspiracy theory."
Others think Saban may return to the college ranks — but not to Alabama. His former QB, AJ McCarron, revealed the one school he believes Saban might consider if he returns to coaching.
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“There’s only one school he would ever—I could ever see him coming back for,” McCarron said. “And this is because, you can just say I know. I’ll never talk more in depth on it. I could see him coming back to college for the University of Texas.”
It’s an interesting take, but Texas isn’t likely to open up any time soon. Steve Sarkisian has the program thriving and is on a recruiting hot streak. If McCarron is right, it may be that Saban will remain happily retired.