Nick Saban is 70 years old but still going as strong as ever.
Saban has won six national championships at Alabama and reached the College Football Playoff in seven of its eight years of existence. In the most recent season, Saban’s Crimson Tide reached the championship game but lost to Georgia, the team they beat in the SEC Championship Game.
Despite the loss to Kirby Smart’s squad, Saban continues to put together great teams and is showing no signs of slowing down. He loves what he does and recently said that nothing about retirement intrigues him.
Saban’s comments were made during speech at the Alabama Football Coaches Association in Montgomery, Ala. on Jan. 27. Clips from his speech have been slowly making their way online a few at a time. His clip about retirement has been deleted, but 247 Sports transcribed it.
“Everybody asks me when I wanna retire. Retire from what?” said Saban. “I’m gonna jump into an empty abyss, aight, of what am I going to do? Because the very challenges that I talk about and the things in our profession that concern me – for you and for me both, in your game and our game – that’s what keeps me going. That’s why I get up every day. That’s why I can’t sleep at night sometimes. So why would you quit doing that? I haven’t figured that one out yet.”
No, it does not sound at all like Saban has any interest in retirement. He is one of those football lifers, a guy who lives for coaching and the day-to-day challenges of the job. What else is he going to do? He loves building programs and chasing championships. What else would he have to do if he didn’t have that? He’d be bored out of his mind.
Stick to coaching, Nick. It’s good for you and for others in the profession (except for the competition in the SEC).
Photo: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
