Nick Saban Silences Return to College Football Amid LSU Tigers Coaching Rumors

It's been a historic week for the LSU athletic department after parting ways with both head football coach Brian Kelly and athletic director Scott Woodward.

There's significant change brewing in Baton Rouge with the LSU Tigers finding themselves in a unique spot, but there remains hope within the program with interim athletic director Verge Ausberry at the helm.

"We're going to hire the best football coach there is," Ausberry said on Friday. "That's our job. We are not going to let this program fail. LSU has to be in the playoffs every year in football. There's 12 teams that make it.

"It's going to expand here. We have to be one of those teams at LSU. No substitute."

A name that has circulated as of late as the "long-shot" hire is college football icon Nick Saban - who revealed his retirement in January of 2024 amid significant chances across the NCAA landscape.

Saban joined The Pat McAfee Show on Friday where he doubled down on his stance that times are changing in college football.

LSU Tigers Football. — Oct. 4, 2025; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Pat McAfee takes a cell phone video of former Alabama head coach Nick Saban, now a co-host of the ESPN College GameDay show, as he comes on set on location on the Quad at the University of Alabama before the Alabama versus Vanderbilt game. | Gary Cosby Jr. / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

“I think one of the things that is really important now in college football, and let me make a comparison for you, in the NFL, everything’s vertically integrated in one building," Saban said. "In other words, the rules are clearly defined by the league as to what you can and can’t do.

"Whether it’s salary cap, contracts, whatever it is. You either succeed or fail based on what happens in the building. From the owner to the GM, to the coaches, to the personnel folks, to the player. College is just kind of the opposite. Everything’s happening externally, not internally, like it is in the NFL,” Saban explained.

“So you’ve got all these external factors that are constantly changing. Whether it’s the transfer portal, how much you can pay guys, revenue sharing, what kind of collective do you have? So, traditionally, how have you been able to adapt to that?

"And my point about tradition is, some of the traditional jobs, like LSU, that people always looked at as one of the best jobs, have they adapted to all these things like they need to to be able to continue to be one of the best jobs in the country?

LSU Tigers Football: Mansoor Delane. — Courtesy of LSU Tigers Football.

“I think that’s why you see Vandy, Indiana — places who have not historically been traditionally great jobs, actually having a lot of success now, because they have managed the external factors very well to bring it in-house so that they can function effectively.

"So what’s to say LSU, Florida — they’re traditionally the best jobs, but are they the best jobs now, relatively speaking, based on how they’ve adapted to the external circumstances that really affect your ability to be successful in college football?”

When it comes to a potential return to the sidelines for Saban, it's a no go, he revealed in a recent interview.

“No way,” Saban responded when asked if he’d think about coming out of retirement. “I have so much fun working with you (directed at Pat McAfee). Why would I go do that?”

The LSU Tigers will see the program intensify its coaching search in the coming days with a primary focus on finding a "cultural fit" moving forward.

More LSU News:

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