Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

WIFE DOESN’T

- By Tom Murphy and Bob Holt

want Saban around the house.

ATLANTA — There’s some bad news for 13 SEC head football coaches.

Nick Saban, the 66-yearold Alabama coach who has won five national championsh­ips in his 11 years with the Crimson Tide, has no plans to retire any time soon.

Asked whether he might become only the second 70-year-old SEC head coach behind Steve Spurrier, or whether his wife, Terry, might have other ideas, Saban went for the punchline first.

“Well, let me say this,” Saban said Wednesday during SEC football media days. “Mrs. Terry doesn’t want me at home. I can tell you that. She doesn’t care if I’m 60, 70 or 80. So she’s looking for something for me to do.”

Then Saban launched into the heart of the matter.

“Now, I really enjoy what I’m doing right now, and as long as I’m healthy and I can do it, I’m going to continue to do it and not worry about any numbers or what my age is or anything like that,” he said. “But I would not want to be in the position where I ever rode the program down because I wasn’t capable of making a contributi­on that would be positive to the success of the program.

“So I’m going to continue to do this for as long as

I feel like I can make a positive contributi­on and as long as I feel healthy enough to do it. And, you know, our noon-time basketball team was undefeated again this year, so that’s always an indicator to me that I can make it through another season.”

 ?? AP/JOHN BAZEMORE ?? Alabama Coach Nick Saban, shown speaking at the SEC media days in Atlanta on Wednesday, said he has no plans to retire soon because his wife, Terry, is not ready for him to spend more time around the house. “Mrs. Terry doesn’t want me at home,” said Saban, 66. “I can tell you that. She doesn’t care if I’m 60, 70 or 80.”
AP/JOHN BAZEMORE Alabama Coach Nick Saban, shown speaking at the SEC media days in Atlanta on Wednesday, said he has no plans to retire soon because his wife, Terry, is not ready for him to spend more time around the house. “Mrs. Terry doesn’t want me at home,” said Saban, 66. “I can tell you that. She doesn’t care if I’m 60, 70 or 80.”

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