By all accounts, Nick Saban is enjoying retirement. The legendary Alabama football coach walked away from coaching last January after winning seven national championships, six with Alabama, and is widely believed to be the greatest coach in the history of college football.
Saban has enjoyed instant success as part of ESPN's College GameDay and is gearing up to be part of the network's NFL Draft coverage in a couple of months. He is unlikely to return to coaching after walking away from a job he held for 17 years.
But that hasn't stopped the rumor mill from churning, and won't stop programs or franchises from reaching out, even if those conversations never get past Jimmy Sexton.
Saban was recently on the Pivot Podcast with Ryan Clark, Fred Taylor, and Channing Crowder. When asked, Saban said he didn't think he would return to coaching, but if he did, it would be in the NFL. The legendary Crimson Tide coach has voiced his displeasure with the current state of the college game.
One has to figure then, if Saban was going to return to coaching (he isn't), that it would be in the NFL. Saban was the head coach of the Miami Dolphins for two seasons in 2005 and 2006 following a successful tenure with LSU. He famously left the Dolphins to become Alabama's head coach in 2007.
Former Auburn QB Cam Newton would hardly be an expert on anything Saban-related, but on ESPN's First Take on Thursday morning, the former NFL MVP offered a wild prediction for Saban's return to coaching.
"Jerry Jones is a businessman, and he’s going to get into his Don Corleone mentality and he’s going to give him a deal he can’t refuse. Who? Nick Saban. Go get Nick Saban as your head coach and Arch Manning as your No. 1 pick.”
The Cowboys recently made the controversial decision to promote OC Brian Schottenheimer to head coach. He's the son of former NFL head coach Marty Schottenheimer, but the junior has been a career assistant up to this point.
Cowboys fans would likely relish the opportunity to tank for a season, draft Arch Manning No. 1 overall, and hire Saban as the head coach. It's a wild thought, and Dallas is unlikely to be bad enough to be in the Arch sweepstakes next season anyway.
Plus, as I've said, Saban isn't coming back to coaching. But if he did, to coach the Cowboys, with a Manning as his QB, I imagine that might generate some interest.