Retire? What, then, would Saban do?
Coach says he’d love to be involved in game
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – There is no real debate, not anymore. Nick Saban isn’t the best active college football coach. At least in terms of accomplishment, he’s the best ever. Alabama notched its fifth national championship in Saban’s 11 seasons in January and will be among the favorites — most likely, the favorite — to win it all again this season.
The Crimson Tide show no sign of slowing. And neither does their coach.
Saban will turn 67 on Oct. 31, right as the chase for the College Football Playoff heats up again. As the wins and especially those national titles keep piling up — including one he won at LSU, he has seven — there’s this question for the coach who has built a modern football dynasty: When does he retire?
Saban typically treats the topic as just more clutter (his word for unnecessary and unwanted distractions) that must be dealt with and disposed of to keep “The Process” running smoothly. But every offseason now, the topic serves as a regular irritant. As inexorable as the calendar, it’s not going away. Apparently, though, neither is he — partly because he cannot fathom what else he would do.
“I enjoy what I’m doing,” he says. “And I don’t have some — I mean, what scares me more than to continue to coach is, what do you do if you don’t? I mean, I really enjoy what I’m doing, I enjoy the relationships with the players, I enjoy the competition and challenges of trying to maintain a high level of organization.
“I’ve been a part of a team for God knows how many years, since I was
9 years old and been the leader of a team for what, probably 20-something years now.”
His office is cluttered — sorry, there’s no better word — with mementos commemorating accomplishments in a career that now spans 24 years as a head coach and
45 overall. But while Saban freely admits he is driven to continue to succeed, he says it isn’t the rings, plaques or trophies he has accumulated but the photographs of former players, coaches and others that hold “sentimental” value. They’re why, he says, retiring isn’t on his horizon.
“It’s not necessarily how you live your life,” he says, “but it’s what significance did your life have on other people? This is a great venue to help and do that. And just to say, ‘ Well, I’m gonna quit,’ when I feel great about doing it, I don’t get that. I mean, it doesn’t make sense to me.
“Now, I will say this: If I wasn’t healthy enough to do it and feel like I was doing it well, I wouldn’t want to continue to do it and ride the program down or anything like that. But I certainly don’t feel that way and that’s not where my mind-set is right now.”
If someday he retires, Saban says he’d like to remain involved with football “some kind of way.” And while there’s a popular notion that he would head immediately to an ESPN set, here’s another thought. How about the College Football Playoff selection committee?
Would Saban like to help choose the four-team bracket?
“Not really,” he said. “I haven’t ever really thought a lot about what I’d like to do if I wasn’t doing this. But that’s not something that I’m aspiring to be a part.
“But if I wasn’t — I’d love to be involved in the game, you know, even if I’m not coaching. So maybe that would be one of the ways that I could stay involved in the game. So I shouldn’t make an emotional response.”
Note to Bill Hancock and the Playoff honchos: That’s a firm “maybe.” But it doesn’t appear Saban will be seriously considering the option anytime soon.