Nick Saban’s wife has revealed her stance on him coming out of retirement – saying the couple is having ‘too much fun’ away from the rigors of coaching.
Saban, 73, retired in January 2024 following a legendary tenure at Alabama, but he’s been linked to the Penn State job of late after James Franklin was fired.
And while Saban’s wife, Terry, still believes in his coaching abilities, she’s not eager for him to return to the sideline.
‘I have no doubt that if Nick wanted to go back to coaching, he could win his eighth national championship, but we’re having too much fun,’ Terry said on ESPN’s College GameDay.
‘And we wouldn’t want to take that opportunity away from all of our baby coaches, like Kirby [Smart] and Lane [Kiffin],’ she continued, referencing two notable examples of coaches who have worked under Saban.
Terry’s answer came after Pat McAfee asked her if an offer of $50million per year would lure her and Saban to Happy Valley to coach Penn State.
Nick Saban’s wife, Terry, poured cold water on the idea of him coming out of retirement
And the legendary head coach was in no mood to argue with his better half
‘I haven’t heard a number yet, Pat,’ she later said.
Saban, for his part, was in no mood to argue with his better half.
‘Mrs. Always Right has spoken,’ he said.
Kiffin, who was Saban’s offensive coordinator from 2014-16 at Alabama, also offered a response to Terry mentioning him by name.
‘Thanks Mrs. Terry,’ he wrote on X with two laughing-crying emojis.
Saban’s coaching career began all the way back in 1973, as a graduate assistant at Kent State.
He got his first head coaching shot with Toledo 17 years later, before spending three years as the Cleveland Browns’ defensive coordinator and then moving to Michigan State in 1995.
He jumped again to LSU in 2000, won his first national championship in 2003 and then returned to the NFL from 2005-06 as he coached the Dolphins.
The Penn State job is vacant after James Franklin (above) was fired last week
Saban retired in early 2024 after a legendary run with Alabama that included six national titles
His last, and most memorable job began with Alabama in 2007, as he led the Crimson Tide to six national titles and nine SEC titles.
Saban signed an eight-year, roughly $93.6 million extension with Alabama in 2022, and was paid $11.41million in his last season – the most of any college football coach.
Franklin, meanwhile is owed a roughly $49million buyout from Penn State after his axing, which came amid a 3-3 start to the season.
However, as reported by Front Office Sports, Penn State would owe Franklin far less than that full amount if he is able to secure another job.