Nick Saban’s suggested next job could be even more important than coaching Alabama

Former Alabama coach Nick Saban wasn’t going to escape college football — even if he wasn’t on the sidelines anymore. He’s been a welcomed addition to the College GameDay crew this year and it seems he may have a calling to return to the high ranks of college football. 

According to Sports Illustrated’s Pat Forde, Saban’s name has been floated as a potential college football commissioner. This is obviously extremely speculative as the position doesn’t actually exist yet. 

But if it did, could Saban actually be the perfect person to represent what a new modern age of college athletics and football is now? Saban’s one of three names Forde dropped in a tweet on his X platform account, formerly Twitter, on Monday. 

While I don’t think Saban is the ideal candidate for the position, I absolutely think college football could benefit from creating the position. Simply put, it’s kind of a free-for-all now; someone has to be able to manage things better than they’re currently being managed. 

A CFB commissioner might be necessary, but Nick Saban isn’t the ideal candidate

Saban would probably be a great commissioner. That said, I don’t think he’d be a good college football commissioner. He openly admitted he’s not built to be a coach in this era of NIL and the transfer portal. 

So him jumping into a position that would primarily oversee those two things just doesn’t seem like the best move. For someone to hold that position, it would need to be someone that’s more progressive.

Not that Saban wouldn’t want to progress the landscape of college football, but he made it clear his values of what got him into coaching don’t translate well to this more modernized approach. It would need to be someone that would find innovative ways to improve how universities and colleges handle NIL and the transfer portal. 

It’s honestly something that should be seriously considered. As of now, the top teams run the NIL and transfer portal markets and the smaller schools get the scraps. Not that a CFB commissioner would be able to balance the scales, but if nothing more provides more clarity. 

Forde mentioned this in light of Cam Ward opting to sit out the second half of Miami’s 42-41 loss to Iowa State in the Pop Tart’s Bowl. It’s something that needs a handle on it. 

Maybe there’s tighter language in the contract these players sign that requires them to play every game, including the bowl game. NIL collectives are throwing around millions of dollars and are still getting half-hearted efforts throughout the season. 

It’s a tricky subject which is why the NCAA has left it as ambiguous as possible. It’s also why a commissioner for college football could be a way to help solve this problem. I’m just not sure Saban is the right person to be the face of the new wave of recruiting in college football.