Nick Saban might not be done being linked to college football and NFL coaching jobs, but Kirk Herbstreit insists he’s done coaching.
Since retiring as head coach of Alabama, Saban’s name has surfaced in connection to the Cleveland Browns, Penn State and LSU to name a few. But on the latest episode of his Nonstop podcast with co-host Joe Galloway, Herbstreit urged everyone to stop speculating about the 74-year-old’s potential return to coaching, because it’s not going to happen.
@kirkherbstreit “Saban is enjoying… his life!” 🏎️🚤 #nonstop ♬ original sound – Kirk Herbstreit
“Let me put two things to the side, Lane Kiffin’s not gonna go to the NFL and Nick Saban, you couldn’t pull Nick Saban off the GameDay desk,” Herbstreit said. “Nick Saban, guys, you got to stop bringing up Nick Saban for all these. He’s not going anywhere. My man is enjoying his life. He told me, ‘For 50 years, I’ve been in a hurry, I’ve been late to something for 50 years.’ Now he’s got Mercedes-Benz dealerships and Ferrari dealerships, he’s got a boat, he’s golfing…he is not coaching.”
Galloway agreed with Herbstreit, saying he recently joined Saban on his boat and there’s no way he’s giving up this newfound freedom to coach again. And while that may be true, there’s also no way everyone is going to stop bringing up Saban’s name in connection to coaching vacancies.
Joel Klatt recently suggested Penn State should call Saban. Paul Finebaum recently claimed Saban might be interested in returning to LSU. Even Shaquille O’Neal said LSU already called Saban to gauge his interest. Amid all of it, Saban has publicly maintained that he has no interest in coaching again. Yet that hasn’t stopped everyone from speculating.
Herbstreit might actually know Saban is done coaching as of today. But that’s not going to stop everyone from wondering whether a seven-figure offer could still change the legendary coach’s mind tomorrow.