Nick Saban to Have Office In Bryant-Denny Stadium
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Nick Saban may be retiring from full-time coaching, but he isn't going anywhere.
One thing he has made abundantly clear since his announcing his retirement from Alabama Wednesday afternoon is his intention to still remain involved with the program. The 17-year Crimson Tide head coach shared in an interview with ESPN's Rece Davis that he will still have an office on the Alabama campus.
A source confirms to BamaCentral that the moving process has already begun on Thursday to set up Saban's office inside Bryant-Denny Stadium.
"I'm gonna be here. So I’m gonna be here for you," Saban shared with ESPN what he told the players on Wednesday. "I'm gonna have a presence. I'm gonna stay in Tuscaloosa. They're giving me an office in the stadium. And I said, ‘I can get on your butt from there just like I can from on the field.'"
The position group Saban has always worked most closely with at Alabama is the defensive backs. Because of that, he said two of the players that it was most difficult to share the retirement news with were fifth-year defensive back Malachi Moore and sophomore safety Caleb Downs.
"I encouraged them to always do the things they’ve done to be successful," Saban said. "One of the things I encouraged the team to do was, ‘You guys all need to play for each other.’ They’ll hire a really good coach here. You’ll have good coaches. You’ll learn more things from more, different people that can enhance your development, and you guys have got to trust in that and believe in that and play for each other."
Moore and Downs are both key pieces for the Alabama defense next season and will be two priorities for the next coach to retain. Whoever Greg Byrne hires at the next head football coach, Saban will still be in Tuscaloosa to support the players.
