It wasn’t even a week ago that Alabama coach Nick Saban reiterated his intention to stay in Tuscaloosa until his coaching days are over.

In an interview with ESPN’s Chris Low, Saban said on coaching elsewhere: “I don’t see it ever happening, and I know every year somebody has me going somewhere else. I think a lot of it isn’t just about the coaching part. What people don’t understand is they forget you’re a person. They forget you have a wife and two kids and a grandbaby, and they all live in Birmingham.”

Still, that doesn’t mean Saban’s name isn’t a popular one when openings come up at the pro level.

Saban and his predecessor at Alabama, former Tide head coach Mike Shula, were both among 16 names mentioned in a story by Albert Breer of NFL.com.

Here’s what Breer had to say about the two respective coaches:

Nick Saban, head coach, Alabama

Age: 64
NFL head-coaching record: 15-17 (Miami Dolphins, 2005-06)
Possible fits: Indianapolis Colts, New York Giants

The buzz around Saban: The idea that Saban feels a bit smothered by the college football cauldron of Tuscaloosa (a two-loss season is a disaster, and just try going to the grocery store as the head coach) isn’t new. And many NFL people have pointed to Saban’s repeated references to winding up with Daunte Culpepper rather than Drew Brees in Miami in 2006 as proof positive that the four-time national champion hasn’t completely let go of his pro failures. The Mara family has long been fond of Saban, and wouldn’t necessarily be scared away by his age. And the Colts could offer control and a potentially transcendent quarterback to pull him away from the college game.

Mike Shula, offensive coordinator, Carolina Panthers

Age: 50
NFL head-coaching record: n/a
Possible fits: Tennessee Titans, Miami Dolphins, Philadelphia Eagles

The buzz around Shula: This wouldn’t be Shula’s first shot as a head coach: He preceded Saban at his alma mater, took the Alabama job under very adverse circumstances and helped set the stage for the success to come. He was fired from that job, so a deeper look into what went wrong in Tuscaloosa would be merited. But in the time since, he’s clearly distinguished himself with his work first as Cam Newton’s position coach (2011-12) and then as his coordinator (2013-present), and he has 24 seasons as an NFL assistant on his résumé. Teams that have passers who came into the league a little raw (Marcus Mariota, Ryan Tannehill) have taken notice.