Nick Saban chides Greg McElroy floating coaching return rumors

Greg McElroy caused quite the stir last month when he openly floated a rumor about Nick Saban potentially returning to coaching.

But while it’s been nearly 15 years since McElroy played in his final game for Alabama, Saban couldn’t help but imagine how he’d handle such a situation if he were still the former Crimson Tide quarterback’s head coach.

“You know, I don’t know where that came from,” the 7-time national champion head coach said during the Nick Saban Awards on Monday night. “Greg McElroy played quarterback for us and if he had done something like that when he was a player, he would have gotten his ass kicked.”

Saban’s playful jab came in reference to comments McElroy made during an interview with Paul Finebaum on his McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning show on WJOX-94.5 in Birmingham in July. Citing someone “very much in the know,” the ESPN college football analyst stated that he’s heard Saban hasn’t necessarily coached his final game after retiring from Alabama following the 2023 season.

“This is a little bit out of left field,” McElroy said. “But the question was asked of me… [by] a very much in-the-know person that I have a lot of respect for. They seem to think Nick Saban’s not done coaching. I had a similar reaction. He’s pretty adamant that he thinks Nick Saban will be coaching again… look, if it wasn’t someone notable, I’d never say a word.”

Finebaum — and McElroy, for that matter — dismissed such speculation, but it was already too late. Over the course of the ensuing days, plenty of headlines (including this one) called attention to the fact that one of Saban’s former quarterbacks and current ESPN colleagues had publicly floated the idea of the 73-year-old returning to the sideline.

Considering his stature and visibility as a staple of College GameDay, the reality is that such rumors are going to be unavoidable, regardless of the source. Look no further than the recent speculation regarding Nick Saban and Arch Manning being a potential package deal for NFL teams, despite all indications being that the Texas quarterback will remain in Austin in 2026.

Still, there’s a difference between a radio host like Colin Cowherd connecting the dots and one of Saban’s own former players amplifying such rumors. That’s not to say that Greg McElroy was wrong for doing so. He just might want to walk the other way if he finds himself in the same place as his former head coach during the upcoming season.