Nick Saban Squashes Latest Batch of ‘Laughable’ Retirement Rumors

The Alabama coach turns 72 in October, so he’s used to this conversation by now.

For the past few years, the topic of when Alabama coach Nick Saban will retire seems to pop up each college football season.

With the coach turning 72 this October, the conversation has resurfaced yet again even though Saban often turns it down. When he was asked about the retirement rumors during his appearance on the Pat McAfee Show on Thursday, the Crimson Tide coach stayed consistent with his answer.

“It’s kind of laughable,” Saban said. “I would ask you, when’s the first time you heard that I was going to retire? That started about five years ago. I love what I’m doing. I’m focused on the challenge. I’ve always said I don’t want to ride the program down. I don’t want to do this if I can’t do it anymore, but I feel great right now. I love it.”

"I think the rumors about me retiring started about five years ago and it's kind of laughable..

I love what I'm doing and I'm focused on the challenge" ~ Nick Saban #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/YWpq7huGsN

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) September 14, 2023

This conversation was triggered by the fact that Alabama lost to Texas, a non-conference opponent, on Saturday, making for only the second time that a Saban-led team has done so at home since his first year there in 2007.

While Saban has accepted the criticism for the loss, he clearly doesn’t plan on retiring anytime soon just because the team struggled in one game early on.