Alabama football fans should relax, and everyone else should just calm down. Nick Saban isn’t leaving Tuscaloosa.
Like every college football offseason, the rumor mill regarding the coaching carousel is in full swing. This time, people are stating that Alabama head coach Nick Saban is going to defect to the NFL.
Last month on The Herd With Colin Cowherd , the show’s namesake (who I personally live to prove wrong) reported Nick Saban was going to leave Alabama to coach the New York Giants. Former Arizona Cardinals coach Bruce Arians made that claim and started the rumor mill a-flowin’. Nick Saban isn’t going anywhere, and here’s why.
Saban has already worked in the NFL, and hated it. In fact, he described his four-years with the Cleveland Browns as the worst of his life. His other NFL coaching positions weren’t abysmal, but they won’t get noted in the annals of the coaching Hall of Fame, either.
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Let’s face it–and believe me, this galls me to admit–Nick Saban is an exemplary college coach, maybe one of the best college coaches of all time. Why would he ruin a stellar trajectory as one of the stars of college football for the murky seas of NFL football?
Alabama plays on such a lofty level that they are already professional players without the inflated salaries. Nick Saban doesn’t need to go to the NFL to coach a pro team.
Also, Saban is a competitor. Nobody gets to where he is with five national titles under his belt with one team (six total) without having a killer instinct. If he stays at Alabama he will rack up at least one more title, surpassing the record of legendary Alabama coach “Bear” Bryant, who earned six national titles during his stint with the Crimson Tide.
Saban also has another great recruiting class in the bag and another great season ahead of him.
Bear Bryant is such a mythical hero in Alabama that people almost genuflect when his name is mentioned. If there is ever a church of football–and there should be–I guarantee you that Bear Bryant would be the first dang saint in it, at least in the Alabama churches.
Saban would be taking a massive pay cut if he left Alabama for the NFL. In 2017, the highest-paid NFL coach made about $6 million per year. Saban made just over $11 million last year, and I suspect that is a low estimate. He also would lose the reputation and the power base he has built.
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By power base, I mean that Nick Saban is not only one of the most influential coaches in football, but he is probably the most powerful man in the state of Alabama. No, seriously. I’m pretty sure that Saban could commit a felony on the grounds of the governor’s mansion and the only question would be “Where does the Tide stand for another run at the championship? We’re good? Case dismissed.”
I’m telling you, Nick Saban ain’t leaving T-Town anytime soon.