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Nick Saban jokingly confirms he would not accept job offer from Bill Belichick, North Carolina

FaceProfileby: Thomas Goldkamp05/14/25
NCAA Football: College Football Playoff National Championship-Clemson vs Louisiana State
Jan 13, 2020; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Alabama head coach Nick Saban on the ESPN set prior to the College Football Playoff national championship game with Clemson Tigers playing against the LSU Tigers at Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

Live from the golf course in Hoover, Ala., The Paul Finebaum Show scooped up Nick Saban as an afternoon guest on Wednesday. Naturally, the conversation did not disappoint.

Saban also revealed there’s a coach he doesn’t think he’d work for: old mentor Bill Belichick. OK, it’s not that serious, really.

Finebaum playfully lobbed Saban a question toward the end of an interview segment about whether he would join Belichick’s staff in an off-the-field capacity if he ever got the itch to coach again. The long-time SEC coach wasn’t going for it.

“No, he never asked but I don’t think I would if he did,” Nick Saban said with a big smile. “But I’m sure he’s very capable of handling the situation himself.”

The latter bit, of course, is at least a slight acknowledgement that Belichick has faced some turbulence in the months since taking the job. Much of it centers around his relationship with Jordon Hudson and her potential influence on the program.

There’s also another matter: ESPN’s Pete Thamel believes UNC has suffered some roster drain via the transfer portal. That’s an issue every coach has to battle now, some more acutely than others depending upon the cycle.

Regardless, Nick Saban seems perfectly comfortable not having to deal with it all. He looked loose on the set with Finebaum, flashing some big grins and hearty laughs.

Even though, as he noted, he’s not necessarily great at living the retired life. He opened up on that too.

“Well, I’m not good not having anything to do,” Nick Saban said. “The day I retired Miss Terry gave me the 10 commandments of retirement. And within one week she said, ‘Ten’s not enough.’ So I’m not ready to retire. I need something to do, keep busy, stay out of her hair. And I like working.

“I didn’t get out of coaching because of the system in college football right now, I got out because of my age. I thought it was affecting the program. I didn’t want to ride the program down. And I think the people at Alabama now will do a great job there.”

For his part, Nick Saban will be content to watch from off the sidelines. He’s made a nice living for himself as an ESPN analyst, including on the airwaves of College GameDay.