Latest news with #McElroy
USA Today
17-07-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Nick Saban daughter shuts down rumor of Alabama football great's return to coaching
Will Nick Saban return to coaching, or stay retired? According to his daughter, Kristen Saban, the Alabama football legend is staying retired. Ms. Saban wrote in a social media post/story to Instagram on Thursday: "He's not coming back to coaching, hate to break it to you. You had your time." Rumors about a return to coaching began when former Crimson Tide quarterback and current ESPN/ABC analyst Greg McElroy said Monday that "a very much in-the-know person" seemed to believe the seven-time national champion wasn't finished coaching. McElroy's comment and subsequent reaction spread across social media, various national sports media outlets, and was a topic at SEC media days in Atlanta. Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer, Georgia's Kirby Smart, Ole Miss' Lane Kiffin and LSU's Brian Kelly all commented on the rumor of Saban possibly returning. DeBoer said Wednesday: "He's one of the greatest to ever do it, so he's earned the right to do what he wants. I think the best part of what coach Saban is doing right now is, he's still involved in the game. He brings passion to it." Saban is set to enter his second year as an analyst for ESPN's College GameDay. While Saban himself hasn't addressed the rumor, someone who seems far more likely "in the know" than McElroy's source has now done so.
American Press
16-07-2025
- Sport
- American Press
Scooter Hobbs column: Sorting though the Saban 'Bombshell'
Maybe it wasn't modern journalism's finest hour, but a good Nick Saban rumor was just the jolt that Southeastern Conference Media Days needed. Even in the Talking Season, you can only yack about how many teams should get automatic bids for an expanded College Football Playoff for so long. The reports of Auburn coach Hugh Freeze's plummeting golf handicap — in June, no less, when War Eagle fans thought his time should be recruiting — did not really gain any traction. So you needed something good and juicy to send shock waves throughout the Atlanta media gathering. Never mind that there's a 99.9999 percent chance that it's not true and never will be. Enter ESPN analyst Greg McElroy, whose media training consisted of playing quarterback for Saban at Alabama. During an appearance on the SEC Network, McElroy repeated the bombshell that he'd first casually dropped Monday morning on his radio show. Namely, that Nick Saban might be considering a return to coaching. Source, please? '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,' McElroy explained. 'Seems to think Nick Saban is not done coaching. He's pretty adamant that he thinks Nick Saban will be coaching again.' Who knows? Perhaps this source was 'deep' in a dark parking garage in Washington, D.C. Anyway, further details were scant. But, almost as shocking as the possibility of a Saban return, was that it seemed to shock McElroy that his 'news,' such that it was, caused such an immediate ruckus in media circles and beyond. Later, appearing on ESPN, McElroy said, 'You want my personal opinion? I think he's done. I'd be shocked.' Too late. In the old days, this might have been stop-the-presses news. Social media has no such hoops to jump through and quickly spread the unfounded rumors. Never mind the disclaimers. The story had legs and was running rampant — it was now a 'fact' that a vague somebody 'thought' a Saban return was at least a remote, miniscule 'possibility.' That was enough for the speculation to get picked up by such notable outlets as Sports Illustrated, Sporting News, even Fox News. There must be fire behind that smoke. It was on TV, wasn't it? Better yet, it's on the Internet. By Tuesday even Georgia coach Kirby Smart (a former Saban assistant) was asked to comment on the 'breaking news.' 'Yeah, I called and offered him (Will) Muschamp's job (as defensive coordinator), but he was overqualified,' Smart said. 'So he wasn't interested.' Smart had the decorum to place tongue firmly in cheek for his opinion. And, he added, 'I heard all the scuttlebutt and everything about it. I almost laughed.' Maybe that's the prudent choice. 'It was like somebody needed something interesting to talk about yesterday,' Smart concluded. 'So they chose to go to Coach Saban to do it.' But, whatever his personal opinion, McElroy didn't totally back off. 'There are people connected to the sports world that think he's not done,' he repeated on ESPN. 'Now interpret that however you will. People that would be somewhat knowledgeable about something like this, yes.' For his part, Saban was absent and unavailable for comment — some would say noticeably absent, and — hmmmm — maybe that absence was part of the 'story?' After all, Saban, too, works for ESPN now, perhaps the network's biggest star. He was at SEC Media Days a year ago as one of his first assignments. Might he be laying low? Not likely. The rumor mill's next logical step would be reports of Miss Terry, the wife who runs the Saban show, to be spotted house-hunting in some college town. 'The boss at home is going to make that call,' Smart said. I don't think it's happening.' Hasn't happened. Unlike Freeze, Saban can play all the golf he pleases these days and, by all accounts that's what he's doing now. Sorry, folks, move along. Nothing to see here.
USA Today
14-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Will Nick Saban return to coaching? Greg McElroy, Lane Kiffin imply legendary comeback
ESPN analyst and former Alabama football quarterback Greg McElroy dropped quite the bombshell involving Nick Saban at SEC media days on Monday, July 14. McElroy, during his radio show on Monday morning, said he was told by someone "very much in the know" that Saban, the seven-time national championship winner, would return to coaching at some point. McElroy added his source was "adamant" about the prediction. McElroy wasn't the only person to predict Saban returning to football, either, as Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin later echoed the prediction regarding his former boss at Alabama. REQUIRED READING: SEC football media days: Live updates from Day 1, headlined by LSU, Ole Miss "I don't think he's done," Kiffin told reporters in a breakout session in Atlanta, per the The Clarion Ledger, part of the USA TODAY Network. "... Whether it's college or NFL, I think he'll be back." Saban, who retired after the 2023-24 season, is currently an ESPN analyst and key member of "College GameDay." His last game came in an overtime loss to eventual national champion Michigan at the Rose Bowl in the 2024 College Football Playoff. "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," McElroy said Monday morning on the "McElroy & Cubelic in the Morning" show on WJOX radio in Birmingham, Alabama. "He's pretty adamant that he thinks Nick Saban will be coaching again." McElroy then added: "If it wasn't someone notable, I would never say a word." ESPN personality Paul Finebaum responded to McElroy by shooting down what McElroy shared, stating he doesn't think Saban is coming back. "You know Nick Saban better than I do, but I ran into somebody the other day who spends time with Saban in Florida – you can imagine where – and said that he is literally having the time of his life," Finebaum said. "Why wouldn't he? I'm much closer to Nick Saban's age than you are and I can assure when you have everything you want and start playing golf at the best golf clubs in America, and you start making friends who belong to even better golf clubs, and you make a lot of money for doing very little work on TV, the interest in doing what he walked away from is not very high. "He had a better situation at Alabama the day he left than he'll have anywhere he goes, let's say next year. I don't know if it's college or pros. Could he be talked into something in the NFL? I don't know how, because I don't think that itch burns anymore either. But my opinion is Nick Saban is done in coaching." If Saban were to return to college football, he'd be the oldest active head coach, as he's one year older than North Carolina's Bill Belichick. He'd be the second-oldest coach in the NFL, as he's a few months younger than Las Vegas Raiders coach Pete Carroll. The 11-time SEC champion, considered the best coach in college football history, seemed like a longshot to return to the sidelines. That scenario may not be quite as farfetched as it was once thought, at least according to two prominent SEC figures.
USA Today
14-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
ESPN's McElroy and Finebaum disagree on likelihood of Saban coaching return
According to CBS Sports, Oklahoma football coach Brent Venables is on the second hottest seat in the country. And according to Greg McElroy, Nick Saban may want to coach college football again. Do with those statements what you will. McElroy, who works as a college football analyst for ESPN, said Monday on his radio show "McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning" that he spoke with someone "notable" who was "adamant" Saban wants to return to coaching. McElroy played for Saban at Alabama from 2007-2011. 'They seem to think Nick Saban's not done coaching," McElroy said of the person he heard from. "I had a similar reaction. He's pretty adamant that he thinks Nick Saban will be coaching again. … Look, if it wasn't someone notable, I'd never say a word.' Paul Finebaum, who also works as an analyst for ESPN, said he disagreed. He couldn't see Saban returning to coaching as the former Toledo, Michigan State, LSU and Alabama coach was enjoying retirement too much. "I'm much closer to Nick Saban's age than you are and I can assure you," Finebaum told McElroy, "when you have everything you want and you start playing golf at the best golf clubs in America and you start making friends who belong to even better golf clubs and you make a lot of money for doing very little work on TV, the interest in doing what he walked away from is not very high." Saban retired after the 2023 season with seven national championships on his resume. Venables, entering his fourth year at Oklahoma, has two losing seasons with the Sooners, including last year when OU finished just 2-6 in its first go-around in the SEC. Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions.
USA Today
14-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Former Alabama quarterback, college football analyst shares Nick Saban coaching rumor
Since announcing his retirement back in Jan. 2024, former Alabama Crimson Tide head football coach Nick Saban's name has been talked about often surrounding if the greatest of all-time would ever get back into coaching at some point. Yes, even despite Saban's current roles that keep the former head coach around the sport such as being an analyst on ESPN's "College GameDay," many across college football have wondered if he would ever return to the sidelines. Well, on Monday morning, former Alabama starting quarterback Greg McElroy shared on McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning that he has heard from a "very much in the know person" that Saban could potentially consider returning to coaching in the future. "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's not done coaching," McElroy said during a segment that also featured ESPN college football analyst Paul Finebaum. "He's pretty adamant that he thinks Nick Saban will be coaching again." McElroy also added that "if it wasn't someone notable, I'd never say a word." According to On3's Brett McMurphy as well, McElroy also later stated that "I don't think he's coming back," and that "I don't buy that" when talking about Saban potentially missing competition and considering a comeback. The head coach at Alabama for 17 seasons from 2007-23, Saban won six national championships with the Crimson Tide before announcing his retirement in Jan. 2024. Saban is not expected to be at 2025 SEC football media days this week in Atlanta, but this is likely now a talking point to watch for as Alabama takes center stage this upcoming Wednesday. Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion.
