Former college football head coach Nick Saban is undeniably the greatest to ever grace the sidelines in the sport. The seven-time national champion and two-time AP Coach of the Year seems to have been enjoying his retirement, but one former player of his says that could all change soon.
ESPN college football analyst and former Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy claims to have a source "in the know" with Saban's thinking that believes the College Football Hall of Famer will return to coaching.
"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 Monday of his former coach on his radio show "McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning". "He’s pretty adamant that he thinks Nick Saban will be coaching again."
In the 18 months since Saban shockingly walked away from Alabama, he's become a weekly analyst for ESPN's "College GameDay" during college football season. McElroy's personal take on the situation is that 73-year-old is staying retired, but he respects his source too much to flat out deny the possibility.
"I’d be shocked [if he came back]," McElroy continued. "There are people connected to the sports world that think he’s not done. Now, interpret that however you will. People that would be somewhat knowledgeable about something like this, yes... If [my source] wasn't someone notable, I would never say a word."
3 potential landing spots for an un-retired Nick Saban
If McElroy's source is somehow correct and Saban decides to take one last stab at coaching, the speculation over where he would choose to have his swan song will be fervent. Here are three destinations he may have the likeliest interest in landing.
IF Nick Saban were to get back into coaching...where would you like to see him??👀👀 pic.twitter.com/2eKfhR3E1C
— McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning (@macandcube) July 14, 2025
3. LSU Tigers
Back where it all started. You could make the case that Saban's 2003-04 national championship run with the Tigers got the snowball rolling on the events that led to Ed Orgeron's 2019 title and now Brian Kelly's sub-optimal tenure.
The latter may not be on the hottest of seats at the moment, but another failure to qualify for the College Football Playoff, especially in its expanded format, will send things to a boil in Baton Rouge. It would be shocking if the fan base wasn't in a position then to welcome back the once-traitor to save the day in his comeback/sunset moment.
2. Florida State Seminoles
If Saban is going to return to coaching somewhere other than the SEC, there's no way he isn't staying below the Mason-Dixon Line. He would also already be very familiar with the recruiting trail in that area, considering he would poach the best prospects from the region constantly while coaching the Tide.
Things in Tallahassee were pretty bleak last year after rattling off an undefeated, non-CFP-rewarded season. If current sideline boss Mike Norvell can't rebound significantly this year, the Seminoles' program might be attractive enough for someone of Saban's caliber to swoop in.
1. North Carolina Tar Heels
There are a lot of interesting possibilities with this one. If current head coach Bill Belichick, a good friend and Saban's former boss at the Cleveland Browns, decides to leave Chapel Hill after just one year, the Tar Heels' program is an attractive project.
North Carolina is still well within the recruiting region Saban dominates and he would easily turn that roster into a serious contender in the ACC overnight. Even if Saban didn't get the head coaching job, there would undoubtedly be room for him on Belichick's staff if he wanted to take a step back. That is, if Jordon Hudson allows it.