Mark Ingram 'can't see' Nick Saban coming out of retirement, taking Penn State job

The coaching carousel has been spinning at full speed in Happy Valley since Penn State fired head coach James Franklin. On Friday, FOX Sports analyst and former Alabama running back Mark Ingram revealed if he could see Nick Saban coming out of retirement to be Penn State’s next head coach.

“Negative,” Ingram said. “It would surprise me, but I would bet my bottom dollar that Coach Saban ain’t coming out of retirement. That man’s living the good life. He’s golfing. He’s with Miss Terry. He’s living a great life. But, I can’t see him coming back and taking that job, man, but who knows?”

Saban retired in January 2023 after Alabama was eliminated from the College Football Playoff. He’s widely regarded as the greatest college football coach of all time. He won seven national titles as a head coach, six at Alabama and one at LSU.

Saban joined the ESPN College GameDay crew in retirement and has become a fan favorite on the weekly pregame show. The 73-year-old hasn’t been shy to admit the introduction of NIL and the transfer portal into college football played a role in his decision to retire. Ingram believes Saban wouldn’t want to deal with these modern elements of the game at Penn State.

“That’s essentially what made him kind of leave,” Ingram said. “Usually, you come off of a season, you have exit meetings, guys are seeing how they can get better. You got guys coming into the exit meetings, demanding targets, demanding a certain amount of money.

“He just wasn’t used to that man. He’s a great coach. He was like a father figure to me, helped me become a better player, a better man. And, I thank him so much for just believing in me and giving me an opportunity to go to Alabama and live out my dreams.”

Despite Ingram’s skepticism, Penn State is expected to swing for the fences in its coaching search. ESPN’s Heather Dinich said money will not be a limiting factor in the search. FOX Sports’ Joel Klatt said if he were PSU athletic director Pat Kraft, his first call would be to Nick Saban.

Whoever Penn State lands, expectations will be high. After all, while Franklin never led the Nittany Lions to a national title, he had an impressive tenure at the helm. During an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show on Friday, Saban revealed what Penn State should be looking for in its next head coach.

“Obviously, they’ve got to hire somebody that has a history of having some success. Someone who knows how to develop a program, continue to win, and deal with success,” Saban said.

“The next person is going to have to do the same thing, but then learn how to deal with success and get the program over the hump. So it’s going to have to be somebody who can win over the people who support the program, as well as win over the people that you need to get in the program, whether that’s coaches or players, to be able to get you to that level.”