Urban Meyer Thinks Nick Saban Would Return to Coaching Under One Circumstance originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
The college football world perked up over a new storyline that surfaced at this week’s SEC Media Days.
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Former Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy stunned the sport when revealing that someone close to seven-time champion head coach Nick Saban revealed there’s a possibility the former Alabama coach could come out of retirement. While McElroy later expressed he doesn’t foresee it happening, the thought is now in everyone’s head and has the sport on high alert.
When appearing on “The Herd,” former Florida and Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer was asked about Saban possibly returning to coaching. While Meyer denounced the possibility of Saban returning to the college game, he didn’t deny that he thinks there’s a world where Saban takes another swing at the NFL.
“You know, I have not talked to him about this,” Meyer said. “I would guess, because I know him fairly well and competed against him, that it’s not a little scratch. It’s probably a pretty big scratch. That’s the one area that he has not… you know, like you said, he was getting things going at Miami. I actually visited him while he was down there. I don’t think he would go back to college. I don’t see that fit.
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“The whole idea that ‘where the heck is Alabama,” Meyer added. “Why are they not in the top 10 in spending?’ I don’t understand that one. And coach (Kalen) DeBoer, I’d be asking some hard questions, say ‘What’s the problem here? We can’t compete, we can’t pay our players.’ So I agree with you. I would say very little to no chance he would get involved in college, but I think he would take phone calls from the NFL.”
Former Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer walks down the sideline during the second half at Michigan Stadium.Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK
Saban retired from coaching after the 2023 season, and has since joined ESPN’s “College GameDay” as an analyst.
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As for a second NFL stint, Saban was the coach of the Miami Dolphins for two seasons (2005-06), compiling a 15-17 record. While it may scratch his coaching itch, he recently said leaving LSU to coach in the NFL was the “biggest mistake” of his career.
So, whether or not he’d give it another go is very uncertain.
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This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 17, 2025, where it first appeared.
