Nick Saban calls rumors of him nearing retirement 'laughable'

On the heels of a tough season in 2022 and a tough loss early in the 2023 season, Nick Saban had to reassure folks that he has no current plans to retire.

The Alabama head coach joined the Pat McAfee Show Thursday afternoon, just a few days after his team was humbled by Texas in the second game of the year. One of the first topics of discussion was Saban’s future as the Crimson Tide coach, which some fans and media have put into question after the subpar last 13 months by Alabama standards.

Coach Saban didn’t even entertain the idea and immediately put a stop to any such rumors.

“It’s kind of laughable,” he responded to McAfee when asked about a possible retirement, wondering what sort of sources were perpetuating this false notion.

“I guess I would ask you: When’s the first time you heard I was going to retire?”asked Saban, noting that he’s dealt with this circus before. “That started about five years ago. I think it creates some advantages for people, whether it’s in recruiting or whatever it might be.”

Nick Saban went on to explain that he still greatly enjoys coaching. Now, he won’t continue to coach if the program sinks to the bottom of the ocean, but Alabama is far from that reality, even with a disappointing last year or two.

“I love what I’m doing, I’m focused on the challenge,” he added. “I’ve always said I don’t want to ride the program down, I don’t want to do this if I can’t do it anymore. I feel great right now. I love it. We’ve got lots of challenges this season, I’m looking forward to it and we’re all-in.”

A surprisingly jovial Saban maintained that positive attitude throughout the interview and seemed far from down after the home loss over the weekend. Both by what he said and by his demeanor, the Alabama coach appeared as fired up to coach his team as ever.