Famed boxing promoter Bob Arum claims that he nearly helped the New York Giants make a rather spectacular coaching hire during the offseason.
According to Arum, connections he had with both an agent and Giants chairman Steve Tisch led to him nearly setting up the hire of Nick Saban to replace Tom Coughlin.
Arum told Keith Idec of the Bergen Record that Nick Khan, an agent at Creative Artists Agency and friend of Arum, had called Arum up saying his colleague, Saban’s agent, said Saban was interested in the Giants job. Arum, in turn, called his friend Tisch informing him of Saban’s supposed interest.
“I guess [Tisch] talked to [John] Mara,” Arum said, “because he called me back and he said, ‘Yes, we would be very interested. But we’re on a deadline. We’re about to hire somebody else,’ which turned out to be [Ben] McAdoo. ‘He’s got to get back to us in one day. This has got to be done in one day and it’s got to be confidential. If it is, it’ll be a go.’
“So I called Nick [Khan], who relayed it to his colleague at CAA. They came back and said, ‘Nick is delighted. Now he’s talking to his wife.’ They went so far as to contact real estate agents in New Jersey, for homes in New Jersey. Then Nick [Khan] called back the next day and said, ‘Call Steve. Tell him Nick can’t do it. His wife loves Tuscaloosa, Alabama. She doesn’t want to move, so Nick can’t take the job.'”
For what it’s worth, the story was corroborated in the New York Post by comedian Tom Arnold, another friend of Tisch. The Giants firmly denied it.
This is an odd one. Sure, Saban usually gets linked to at least one NFL job every single offseason, but Arum being the go-between even after Saban and the Giants were allegedly alerted to the mutual interest is strange. It makes for a fun story, though, and a fascinating what-if. Imagine Saban trying to handle Odell Beckham Jr. The possibilities are endless.
