Kirby Smart Addresses Rumor of Nick Saban's Potential Return to Coaching

Although Nick Saban hasn't been Alabama's head coach for the last 18 months, the seven-time national champion is the hottest topic at the 2025 SEC Media Days in Atlanta.

The 73-year-old has been an analyst for ESPN's College GameDay since his retirement, but former Alabama quarterback and current college football analyst Greg McElroy said on Monday morning that “A very much in the know person that I have a lot of respect for and have spent a lot of time around, and just really, really admire, they seem to think Nick Saban is not done coaching.”

Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin spoke at SEC Media Days on Monday and said "I don’t think he’s done. I think he’ll be back. Whether that’s college or NFL, I think he’ll be back...I thought it’d be probably one year in the media then back."

Georgia head coach Kirby Smart was asked about the rumor on Tuesday when the Bulldogs were at the podium in Atlanta, but his take on the hot topic was much different from Kiffin's.

"Yeah, I called and offered him [Will] Muschamp's job but he was overqualified, so he wasn't interested," Smart joked. "No, I heard all the scuttlebutt and everything about it. I almost laughed. It was like somebody needed something interesting to talk about yesterday, so they chose to go to coach Saban to do it.

"The game is better with him involved, and he is involved. He is passionate about it. He and I still talk and share ideas from time to time about defensive philosophies and the way to do things, and he's still watching tape and very, very involved in football.

"He loves it. His brilliance, as brilliant as he is in many ways is around football. It's around scheming. It's around another way to do something to stay ahead of the offensive minds, and I think that's one of the elite talents he has, and he still loves that. He's still passionate about that."

Similar to Kiffin, Smart was also an assistant under Saban, serving as Alabama's defensive coordinator from 2008-15 and was the Crimson Tide's assistant head coach and defensive backs coach in 2007––Saban's first year in Tuscaloosa.

Saban, Smart and Kiffin were together at Alabama in 2014 and 2015. The Crimson Tide won the College Football Playoff National Championship over Clemson in the second season.