Nick Saban nominated for Emmy after first year on ESPN College GameDay analyst

Former Alabama coach Nick Saban was nominated for an Emmy following his first year on ESPN’s College GameDay. It was in the category of “Outstanding Personality/Emerging On-Air Talent.”

The other nominees alongside Saban were former Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce (ESPN), former NFL QB Ryan Fitzpatrick (Prime Video), former cornerback Richard Sherman (Prime Video) and former Villanova basketball coach Jay Wright (CBS/TNT).

“This year’s Sports Emmy nominees have once again raised the bar in sports television, blending innovation and passion to deliver unforgettable moments,” said Adam Sharp, President & CEO, NATAS. “From their groundbreaking technical achievements to their excellence in the timeless art of live sports drama and documentary storytelling, we look forward to honoring these extraordinary professionals’ contributions at the 46th Annual Sports Emmy Awards.”

Saban’s been fantastic on television since joining ESPN full-time. That includes some NSFW moments, to many people’s pleasure and laughter.

With Bill Belichick, Saban’s former boss, returning to coaching but this time in college with North Carolina, some pondered Saban back in the NFL. While he’s retired from coaching, he did say he’d rather coach in the NFL than deal with the new age of college athletics.

“I loved coaching pro ball, and if I was going to coach today, based on the circumstances in college and in the NFL, I would coach in the NFL, because all those things in college have changed,” Saban said on The Pivot Podcast with Ryan Clark, Fred Taylor and Channing Crowder, the latter of whom played for Saban during his two seasons in Miami. “The whole idea of what college used to be is not there anymore. It used to be you went to college to develop value for your future. Now people are going to college to see how much money they can make.

“And I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with that, but you change the whole dynamic of the importance of getting an education, making good decisions and choices about what you do and what you don’t do to create value for your future. You changed that whole dynamic.”

Saban retired Jan. 10, 2024 with a 292-71-1 (.804) career record over 28 seasons as a collegiate head coach beween Toledo (1990), Michigan State (1995-1999), LSU (2000-04) and Alabama (2007-23), during which he became college football’s only seven-time national champion-winning coach with six titles in Tuscaloosa. In addition to his two seasons at Miami, Saban also served as the Cleveland Browns‘ defensive coordinator under Belichick from 1991-94 and was a Houston Oilers defensive backs coach from 1988-89.