Urban Meyer Shares Thoughts on Nick Saban’s Next Move

Like a dentist removing a molar without lidocaine, Urban Meyer’s foray into the NFL was short and painful. The former Jaguars head coach had some interesting thoughts on the future of Nick Saban.

Saban’s former Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy said Saban, who turns 74 in October, might not be done with coaching. Meyer then raised eyebrows with his own spin on that suggestion.

“I have not talked to him about this,” Meyer said on Thursday’s edition of The Herd with Colin Cowherd. “But I don’t think he’d go back to college. I don’t see that fit.

“I would say very-little-to-no chance he would get involved in college. But I think he would take phone calls from the NFL.”

Meyer took that phone call in 2021, then lasted only 13 games before Shad Khan fired him following several incidents and controversies – and a 2-11 record, leading Pro Football Network in 2024 to call his tenure the worst by a head coach in NFL history. Jim Harbaugh, another coach who won a college national championship, took that call a year ago and led the Chargers to a six-game improvement and playoff berth.

Whether Saban listens to NFL calls this January might come down to a high-quality quarterback. While 2021 and 2024 were vastly different for Meyer and Harbaugh, they both had that quarterback. Meyer knew Jacksonville held the No. 1-overall choice and could select Trevor Lawrence. Harbaugh knew the Chargers had Justin Herbert.

“That’s so intriguing when you see a player of that caliber,” Meyer told Cowherd. “If Nick Saban can get that kind of position where he believes that this is a Hall of Fame, future Hall of Fame quarterback or a world-champion quarterback, the more I’m thinking, I think he’s going to take that call. I really do.”

Ironically, one situation with a current coach on the hotseat and a talented quarterback is Miami. Most forget that Saban had his own short and disappointing stint as an NFL head coach, from 2005-06 with the Dolphins. Assuming he wouldn’t want to return to Miami, other possibilities with both a coach on the hotseat and talented young quarterback could include Tennessee, Cincinnati and the New York Giants.

Saban, who retired after the 2023 Alabama season, is only six weeks younger than Pete Carroll. The new Raiders head coach will become the oldest in NFL history when he turns 74 in Week 2 this season. Both Carroll and Saban are in great shape.

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