Former Alabama RB Damien Harris reacts to potential of Nick Saban coming out of retirement
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Former Alabama running back Damien Harris won 2 national championships playing for the legendary Nick Saban, capturing the ultimate glory in 2015 and 2017.
That was right smack in the middle of the Saban dynasty in Tuscaloosa, which culminated with a 6th national title in 2020. Saban won 6 national crowns in all during his 17-season run at Alabama before finally calling it quits after the 2023 season. Saban retired and has now moved on to a career in broadcasting at ESPN, which he’s gotten very comfortable with, especially as an analyst on ESPN’s College GameDay.
Saban would seem to be fully entrenched in his post-coaching life, but the 73-year-old is still full of energy, and at SEC Media Days in Atlanta, his first championship-winning quarterback at Alabama spoke about the possibility of the college football legend returning to the sidelines.
Greg McElroy, who quarterbacked the Crimson Tide to the 2009 national title that kick-started the Saban dynasty, mentioned the possibility of Saban returning to coaching during McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning on Monday. McElroy said that someone “very much in the know” told him that Saban still has an interest in coaching.
So, is this just a rumor that McElroy has talked about out loud, or does Saban’s coming back to coaching actually have some validity? Harris gave his take on Monday at SEC Media Days.
“I think if given the proper opportunity, I don’t think you could pay him not to take (a coaching job),” admitted Harris.
Saban’s retirement in January of 2024 just didn’t sit well with Harris.
“This don’t feel right. He can still do it,” added Harris. “Not only with him being a member of the media, but somebody who advocates for the purity of the sport. This is a guy who loves college football.”
Here are Harris’s full comments from Monday:
Of course, Saban himself will determine if these thoughts are just that — thoughts — or whether Saban really does have another coaching run left in him.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
