The 2025 college football season is right around the corner. The Alabama Crimson Tide will be entering its second season with Kalen DeBoer as the head coach after Nick Saban retired.
Saban is 73 years old, and he seems to be enjoying retirement. However, is there a chance that he could unretire and head back to the college football sidelines sooner rather than later?
Former Alabama Crimson Tide Quarterback Greg McElroy Believes Nick Saban Will Return To the College Football Sidelines
Saban won six national titles with Alabama and one national title with the LSU Tigers. In his overall coaching career, he had a 292-71-1 record. Saban is one of the greatest college football coaches of all time, but is there a chance that he could return for more?
Well, McElroy said a person ‘in the know’ believes Saban will return to the college football sidelines at some point. The former Crimson Tide quarterback said,
“If it wasn’t someone notable, I would never say a word.”
Does this mean that Saban will be back on the sidelines for the 2026 season at 74 years old? It remains to be seen what will happen with him. It would be shocking if he decided to come out of retirement to coach another football program.
Fans React To Potential Rumors
He wanted to come back to LSU after the Dolphins but the coach we had was winning, there was no reason to fire him.
I promise you we will not make that mistake again.
— name but also a little joke (@bearsaremean) July 14, 2025
Pack your bags, Billy pic.twitter.com/dsxlXaTTNi
— David Biddle (@davidebiddle) July 14, 2025
If Saban comes back, it won’t be for just any job. It’ll be somewhere where the infrastructure and talent are already in place, and he gets to chase one more ring. Not ruling anything out.
— Jesse Burns (@Jesse_Burns27) July 14, 2025
He should take the Auburn head coaching job. It would be good for him to experience losing to the Tide for that 360 degree sensation
— Jeff Nolan 🇺🇸🐄🐓🚜🧑🌾 (@jeffnolan) July 14, 2025
I think he returns to LSU for one final mea culpa—to make amends with the university and the fan base. It’s clear he always had a deep love for the place, and this is his chance to restore his legacy with the people and the state he truly cared about—because they won’t forgive…
— Tera✨ (@Tera_r_johnson) July 14, 2025
It would be one interesting story if LSU did not have a good year in 2025 and they decided to fire Brian Kelly as head coach and hire Saban for the 2026 college football season. That would be one of the biggest storylines in college football for the Tigers. Also, there will be some other SEC teams as well who could be looking for a new head coach.
The Kentucky Wildcats would not be a place for Saban to go, but the Florida Gators could be another interesting destination for him if Billy Napier were to get fired. The Gators football program is eager for a winning program once again. He would never go to the Auburn Tigers, but Hugh Freeze is also on the hot seat.
Another interesting program for Saban could be the Penn State Nittany Lions if they decide to move on from James Franklin as head coach depending how the 2025 college football season goes. There would be a lot of suitors for Saban and maybe this is just a rumor that McElroy is talking about with a great head coach returning to the sidelines. However, are we really sure he would want to coach again? Times are so different in college football now.
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