The Nick Saban-to-Cleveland Browns rumors won’t go away even though Saban himself will deny them and we here at CFT have zero reason -- none -- to believe there’s a lot of truth to them. As a result, Saban’s going to continue to answer any and all questions about another possible stint in the NFL.
Appearing on The Dan LeBatard Show in Miami, Saban talked more about why he would stay at Alabama rather than why he would or wouldn’t try his fortune at the next level again.
“College football has been very good for us,” Saban said. “The positive impact that you can have on these young men as players and as people, that’s just something that we really enjoy and something that I learned about myself.
“I really enjoy what I’m doing here right now. I’m getting old now. I don’t think we’ve got too many moves left in us. You develop a lot of relationships and loyalties to the players you recruit and the players you have on the team and the people you have in the organization. I don’t think it’s really fair to leave. I regretted when I left LSU because I left a lot of relationships there. Hopefully I’ll be able to stay here for a long, long time.”
Saban has a tremendous talent for spending minutes on end talking without ever really saying anything, but I actually tend to believe most of what he said to LeBatard -- to a degree. Saban has a great thing going in Tuscaloosa, and even though he’s playing for his third BCS championship in four years, I don’t get the feeling that he feels like he’s done everything he can do for the program.
If Saban wins a couple (or few, or handful) more national championships with the Tide, though? We might be talking about a different story. And, granted, reading another man’s mind is impossible and trying to gauge Saban is even harder if you can believe that. Not to mention coaches in general can be fickle. They get an idea in their head and, boom, they’re gone.
As I’m sure all of us can recall, Saban wasn’t leaving the Miami Dolphins before he was, so take what he says for what it’s worth.
Saban’s a hell of a coach and the college game is fortunate to have him. I do believe it’s a legit question to ask how long before Saban wants another crack at the NFL. I don’t, however, believe it’ll be in the next few months.
(Hat tip: al.com)