There are some coaches in college football and the NFL who should be worried because coaching legend Nick Saban may be on his way back to the sidelines.
"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. He's pretty adamant that he thinks Nick Saban will be coaching again," former Alabama QB Greg McElroy claimed this week.
If the 73-year-old were to return to coaching, we offer up six bold possibilities for where Nick Saban could end up in 2026.
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Let's be real. If Kalen DeBoer doesn't show progress in his second season as the coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide , the school's decision-makers would jump at the chance to replace him with the man he replaced. Saban created an absurd standard for the program by winning six national championships in Tuscaloosa. The only person who could realistically maintain it would be the individual who set it.
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New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll is in the hottest seat in the NFL right now. If the G-Men aren't near playoff contention or better this season, he will be out. While Saban may seem too long in the tooth to take on a rebuild NFL job like this, the organization has shown interest in the college football icon multiple times in the past.
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It has been over a decade since West Virginia was consistently flirting with double-digit win seasons. But what if Saban went back home to turn the program into a major college football program? The coaching legend grew up a half hour from Morgantown in Fairmont, WV. Returning to his roots for his final job in the game would be a fascinating storyline and something we have seen with many legendary athletes at the end of their careers.
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While college football programs don't fire head coaches as fast as they do in the NFL, they aren't far off. It seems like four years is the amount of time major schools give a coach to turn their football teams into playoff contenders. That means the pressure will be on Florida Gators coach Billy Napier in 2025. If he can't take another step forward this year, the idea of replacing him with Nick Saban could be an idea too good for Florida decision-makers to turn down.
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With Saban set to turn 74 years old this year, it would be understandable if he doesn't want to uproot his life and move to another city far away if he returns to the sidelines. And as mentioned above, maybe Alabama ends up giving DeBoer at least four seasons to keep his job. That could make Auburn a perfect landing spot for Saban.
The 1980s were the last time the football program had multiple double-digit win seasons in a few years. They would love to get the coaching legend and stick it to in-state rivals Alabama in one massive move.
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Behind Daboll, Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski is also feeling the heat heading into the new season. If they have another losing campaign in year six, he will likely be ousted after the season. Saban served as the team's defensive coordinator back in the days when Bill Belichick was leading the staff. Cleveland would be a team desperate enough to give Saban whatever he wants to take over their program. That would surely entice the coach to go back to the NFL ranks.
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