Nick Saban reportedly involved in unexpected role outside of college football

Nick Saban is no stranger to being in a position of leadership with a sports team.

Immediately following the end of his playing career at Kent State, Saban embarked on a career as a football coach for the next 50 years of his life. 29 of those 50 years were in head coaching roles, where he accumulated 292-71-1 record and seven national championship victories in the collegiate ranks.

Even though Saban stepped down from coaching at Alabama in 2023, he still wanted to stay involved in the sports world in some capacity. Less than a year after retiring from his post with the Crimson Tide, he joined ESPN's College GameDay show as an analyst in the fall of 2024.

Until recently, Saban had not pursued sports-related opportunities outside of the world of college football. That changed in December of 2025 when he purchased a minority stake in the Nashville Predators, inserting himself into the world of hockey.

Nick Saban on the College GameDay set in 2025. — ESPN personality Nick Saban does the Guns Up gesture toward Texas Tech students | Nathan Giese/Avalanche-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

"I love hockey. I think hockey's a great investment. They have a salary cap, and it's a growing sport," Saban said about acquiring the stake on the Pat McAfee Show.

"I think there's a lot of interest in the sport and Nashville's a great city. We have businesses there, so I'm kind of a fan and look forward to being a part of the team. I think they have the structure there to rebuild this team, and I'm excited about being a part of it."

As Saban alluded to, the Nashville Predators are not his first business venture in the city of Nashville. He owns Mercedes-Benz of Music City and Prancing Horse of Nashville, a Ferrari dealership, adjacent to Nashville International Airport.

Since he is a minority owner in the Nashville Predators, he has a hand in making an important decision for the organization's future.

Predators general manager Barry Trotz announced on Monday that he would resign from his post when the organization found a successor. Trotz had served as head coach of the Predators from 1998-2014 and later succeeded founding general manager David Poile in 2023.

Saban will not be alone in helping the Predators with the search for their next general manager. Trotz, president Michelle Kennedy and minority owner Chris Cigarran are all involved in the Predators' search.

The Predators lie near the middle of the Western Conference's Central division, sitting at 25-23-6 overall. They won five of their first seven games after it was announced Saban had acquired the minority stake, but cooled down in the month of January.