Oregon Fans Will Love Kirk Herbstreit's Comments On Nick Saban

College football has transformed dramatically over the past five years, and Oregon coach Dan Lanning has positioned the Ducks at the forefront of adapting and thriving in the new era. Oregon fans will especially appreciate what ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit recently said about the future of the sport ... and about Nick Saban’s influence on it.

Lanning and Saban share a relationship that dates back more than a decade, and the two still remain in regular contact. Saban's influence on the 39-year-old Lanning began when he hired Lanning as an Alabama Crimson Tide graduate assistant in 2015 and they went on to win the National Championship.

Jan 1, 2026; Pasadena, CA, USA; Nick Saban on the ESPN College Gameday set during the 2026 Rose Bowl and quarterfinal game of the College Football Playoff at Rose Bowl Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Now, Saban is retired from coaching and has become a fan-favorite on ESPN's College GameDay as an analyst. However, Herbstreit thinks he could be the sport's savior.

Kirk Herbstreit's Comments On Nick Saban

Herbstreit did not mince words with the issues surrounding college football and needed changes. With the adoption of the now-12 team College Football Playoff, college football needs a leadership structure that has a single authority.

“I think right now, we’re still legislating the sport as if it were the 1980s,” Herbstreit said on the Dan Patrick Show. "Now it’s all about the CFP. And yet, we’re governing this sport with conference commissioners who are worried about their own regions and their own constituents. No one’s looking at the entire country and saying, ‘What’s best for college football?’”

So who could that person be?

“My only hope is Nick Saban, truly,” Herbstreit continued. “People can say he’s got an Alabama twist. But if you really know Nick Saban, he’s got a college football twist. He cares about the players. He cares about the sport... He’s got a lot of people’s ears, and I really think he has good intentions.”

“It’s just so impossible to predict where we’re headed - And that’s the scary part,” Herbstreit said.

Oct 23, 2021; Pasadena, California, USA; ESPN broadcaster Kirk Herbstreit (left) talks with Oregon Ducks athletic director Rob Mullens before the game against the UCLA Bruins Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Why might Oregon fans be excited by the idea? A version of college football shaped by Nick Saban’s leadership could bring a greater sense of structure and consistency to the sport. Throughout his career, Saban has built a reputation for being methodical, detail-oriented and pragmatic in his decision-making. If he were ever to take on a commissioner-type role, some of the issues Dan Lanning has been vocal about in recent years could carry more weight and potentially see meaningful progress.

Lanning has reiterated the need to fix the sport's calendar as the playoff, transfer portal, coaching changes and school often conflict with each other as major issues.

"Every playoff game should be played every single weekend until you finish the season," Lanning said. "Even if it means we start Week 0 or you eliminate a bye, the season ends Jan. 1, and then the portal opens, then coaches that have to move on to their next opportunities get to move to their next opportunities."

Saban may or may not agree with Lanning's fix but he would at least take a look at how to better the calendar.

Saban won seven national titles as a head coach, the most in college football history. He coached four Heisman Trophy winners at Alabama: Mark Ingram II (2009), Derrick Henry (2015), DeVonta Smith (2020), and Bryce Young (2021). Saban's career record as a college head coach is 292–71–1. In 2025, Saban was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach.

Oregon Ducks coach Dan Lanning Reveals Best Nick Saban Advice | Photo credit: Joshua R. Gateley / ESPN Images

With immense popularity behind it, can college football evolve to better serve those who coach and play?

Saban as a college football analyst is certainly a victory for sports fans. However, Saban as a commissioner would be a win for the sport.

Nick Saban And Dan Lanning's Relationship

Since working for Saban in 2015, Lanning has maintained his inquisitive nature and desire to grow, unafraid to reach out to Saban for a different perspective or advice.

“I actually visited with Coach (Saban) just the other day,” Lanning told Oregon Ducks on SI reporter Bri Amaranthus in 2025. “More than anything, I bounce a lot of thoughts off of him and see if he has any insight because this guy has a ton of experience. He’s the best coach to ever do it."

"I think he has an unbelievable ability to look at things from a backseat approach, big picture view, see how it affects the program, and then stand his guns on certain things that he thinks are non-negotiable,” Lanning continued.

That same coaching advice could be applied if Saban was a leader in the sport.

“I think (Saban) has done a good job, for me at least, detailing, 'Hey, what are your non-negotiables?’ Oregon football looks like this, dot, dot, dot. What's it look like? And me figuring out, OK, I have to be Dan. I can't be Nick (Saban). I can't be Kirby (Smart) or Mike Norvell,” Lanning continued.

Jan 9, 2025; Miami, FL, USA; ESPN analyst Nick Saban before the game between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Penn State Nittany Lions in the Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Saban’s advice?

“Be you and then figure out what your non-negotiables are and then be ready to adapt,” Lanning said. “And he was always great at adapting to how the game might change, great at adapting to your ability to recruit what that might look like, great at adapting to how you coach your players. I think he just always did a phenomenal job of that.”

Saban often talks about his respect for Lanning. After the young coach was hired to coach linebackers at Memphis in 2016, Saban tried to hire him back at Alabama but ultimately Georgia coach Kirby Smart beat him to it, hiring Lanning in 2018.

It's clear there is a mutual respect. As college football continues to shift, could Saban be its savior?