College football news: Nick Saban sets record straight on retirement rumors

Nick Saban is not only the most accomplished coach in college football by far, he's also one of the oldest.

But don't let that lead you to believe he's ready to retire. Which is why he'd like very much if other SEC coaches would stop using his age and false retirement rumors to recruits.

"I love my job. I love it," Saban said on the SEC Network.

"I love the relationships with the players, I love the competition, the preparation for the games. I just love it.

"I wish you all would ask all the other coaches who come up here - because they tell the recruits I'm going to retire - ask them how they know I'm going to retire when all I think about is what am I going to do if I retire, because I love what I'm doing now. So how am I going to be happy not coaching?"

Now 70, Saban is the oldest coach in the SEC by almost a decade and one of just two coaches working past his seventh decade in the FBS.

But that number has nothing to do with how well Saban is performing for Alabama, whether it be recruiting, player development, or winning national championships.

Saban holds the all-time college football record with seven national championships in his career, six of which he won with Alabama.

His team played for another national title a year ago, and is the consensus favorite to emerge as the No. 1 team in the AP Top 25 and to contend for another championship.

And there's precedent for successful football coaches to work into and even past their 70s: Bobby Bowden coached until he was 80 and Joe Paterno until he was 84.

If you can do the job, you can do the job. And there's no one in college football who has done the job better than Nick Saban.

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