Nick Saban talks Miss Terry, retirement at the Masters: 'If I do my chores, then I can go play golf'
Now three months removed from announcing his retirement as head football coach of Alabama, Nick Saban is still getting used to this being at home thing.
As we know, Saban loves his golf. But in order to play golf in retirement, he must first follow the “12 commandments of retirement.” Essentially, Saban has to get up early and do his chores before he gets the free pass from Miss Terry to hit the links for a round of 18, he told Laura Rutledge of ESPN live from the 2024 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on Friday.
“The best thing is I spent 50 years being in a hurry and didn’t even know it” Saban said. “So, when I retired and sat back and didn’t have so many things to do, I figured out that that wasn’t normal. This kind of life is a little more normal. Even though I’m staying busy and looking forward to ESPN, doing the draft, doing [College] GameDay, … I’m kind of staying busy. I didn’t really want to quit working. But I just didn’t want to ride the program down because of my age. And didn’t really want to work all the time.
“You know, the day after I retired, I got the 12 Commandments of retirement. So, I’ve tried to live by them. But I’ve found out if I do my chores, then I can go play golf. So, I get up early and get my chores done and it’s like, ‘Now do I have a free pass to do what I want to do?’ [laughs] I make my bed, I take the garbage out, I have to wait for her to eat together and I have to leave a little food just because that’s polite to tell people that you really thought it was good. Which I grew up cleaning my plate, so that’s not kosher anymore.”
*Married men all around the world nod in agreement.*
‘College GameDay’ looking out for Nick Saban ahead of his arrival in fall 2024
One thing that hasn’t changed in retirement for Saban is his routine of enjoying a Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pie every morning. In fact, Saban says that “College GameDay,” which he is joining for the 2024 college football season, has already assured him they have oatmeal creme pies stocked and ready to roll for him.
“In fact, the lady that’s going to be on GameDay, she told me she’s all set with the Little Debbies. And I said, ‘At least you’ve got your priorities right,'” Saban said.
Saban’s first ESPN assignment will be contributing to the network’s NFL Draft coverage later this month.