Ausberry comments on rumors of Nick Saban's return to LSU

Amidst all of the chaos around LSU and the beginning of the coaching search in Baton Rouge, one name is always on the forefront of LSU fans’ minds — Nick Saban. The hall of fame coach led LSU to its first national title in 2003 before leaving for the Dolphins then returning to college to coach Alabama.

Saban is in his second football season as a retired coach and an analyst on ESPN’s College Gameday and at 74-years-old and by all accounts is enjoying his new life with wife and family.

On Tuesday night, LSU interim athletic director talked specifically about the Saban speculation while on ESPN Radio with Matt Mascona. In short, Ausberry assured everyone that Saban is not returning to coach college football and he talks with him every couple of weeks.

“No way he’s coming back to football. That’s not gonna happen. I think that has run its course,” Ausberry said.

That’s a definitive statement from Ausberry in regards to Saban, but most LSU fans already understood it was a longshot. Saban has addressed the potential of a return for several months now and with every passing month, the door shuts even further.

“You know, I want to stay retired,” Saban said. “I do not want (Jimmy Sexton) anywhere near Miss Terry. Because when she hears some of these numbers, she gets interested. And I’m not interested.”

Kirk Hirbstreet, Saban’s co-host on College Gameday, has further assured everyone of Saban’s retirement in recent weeks. It appears as LSU continues to do the legwork in a coaching search, its former coach will not be on the list.

“Let me put two things to the side, Lane Kiffin’s not gonna go to the NFL and Nick Saban, you couldn’t pull Nick Saban off the GameDay desk,” Herbstreit said. “Nick Saban, guys, you got to stop bringing up Nick Saban for all these. He’s not going anywhere. My man is enjoying his life. He told me, ‘For 50 years, I’ve been in a hurry, I’ve been late to something for 50 years.’ Now he’s got Mercedes-Benz dealerships and Ferrari dealerships, he’s got a boat, he’s golfing…he is not coaching.”

Saban has been vocal about teh changing landscape of college athletics shifting what is possible and he believes it has changed what the best jobs in the country really are, saying its more about getting everyone on the same page now more than ever.

“You’ve got all these external factors that are constantly changing,” Saban said. “Whether it’s the transfer portal, how much you can pay guys, revenue sharing, what kind of collective do you have? So, traditionally, how have you been able to adapt to that? … Some of the traditional jobs, like LSU, that people always looked at as one of the best jobs, have they adapted to all these things like they need to to continue to be one of the best jobs in the country?”