Alabama Football Rumors: This May Be Nick Saban’s Last Year As Head Coach
The LSU Tigers have not had the great football season that many expected, but they are holding onto head coach Les Miles for at least another season. The Alabama Crimson Tide are having a very successful season and look to be on their way to a berth in the College Football Playoffs. Even with a great season, rumors suggest that this could be the last season they have Nick Saban as their head coach.
According to AL.com, Paul Finebaum, ESPN’s college football guru, spoke on Wednesday about the state of Alabama football. During his daily show on Wednesday, Finebaum said that a national title being won by the Crimson Tide football team this year could lead to them losing their coach.
“I believe if [Nick] Saban wins a national title, he will seriously consider doing something else besides being head coach at Alabama.”
This immediately got a lot of people talking and the Crimson Tide fan base in an uproar. Finebaum’s colleague, SEC Network analyst Marcus Spears, even got into a conversation regarding the possibility of Saban leaving Bama if a national title is won.
For those who may not remember, Spears played under Saban when he was the coach at LSU. Spears has kept a personal relationship with his former coach for years.
Many fans called in and said that both Saban and his wife have made it clear they are happy in Alabama and like it. Finebaum agreed with that but also made the point that if the Tide doesn’t win a national championship, then the season is considered a failure.
If Saban and Alabama win a national championship in January, then that will make five. Immediately, he will have to start recruiting for next year, and all the joy is taken out of what he does because it’s constantly the same thing.
Marcus Spears did speak on the situation and didn’t necessarily disagree with Finebaum.
“The possibility of that happening is not a far-gone thing. Nick Saban loves a challenge. If he sees a challenge and he gets the right situation and approach to him, it’s something that he would think about. I’m not saying he would leave, but every coach — especially with his type of character — they want to do it on every level. That’s just his personality. That’s why he went to Miami in the first place when he left LSU. He had a bunch of college job offerings after he left LSU after a national championship. But the challenge is what drives him. If you listen to him talk in every interview, you listen to him talk to anybody about what keeps him going, it’s the challenge for him. Look, as much as I know coach Saban, I don’t think he’ll leave Alabama and go pro. But if he did, his reasoning would be he wants to go accomplish what he thinks he could accomplish on that level also.”
Maybe some of the excitement and enjoyment of the job have been lost for Nick Saban. Perhaps he doesn’t have a challenge anymore and it’s making him want to leave, but it wouldn’t be the only thing. The fact that Kirby Smart, Saban’s defensive coordinator, is rumored to be leaving to take the head coaching job at Georgia hasn’t pleased him either.
On Wednesday, Saban went off on the rumors and talk that Smart will be leaving Alabama for Georgia, according to AL.com. The hiring almost seems like a lock, and it has the Alabama players in a bit of a tizzy. However, Saban tried to bring everyone back down to earth to focus on what needs to be done now.
Nick Saban is the head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide football team, and he could end up winning another national title in January. Fans do have to wonder if the monotony has gotten to be too much and this will be his last season leading the team.
[Image by Scott Halleran/Getty Images]
