A major upheaval happened in Baton Rouge, and Shaq can’t stay out of it. The Louisiana State University athletics department finally dropped the ax on Brian Kelly’s era. After four seasons without a turnaround, the Tigers are looking at a potentially Deion Sanders-Colorado-level blockbuster hire. It may be football, and Shaquille O’Neal usually speaks about Matt McMahon or Kim Mulkey. But the guy who has a statue on his campus is all for this. The move is, after all, LSU gunning for Nick Saban.

It will grind Charles Barkley’s gears if Shaq’s school got his favorite coach. But potentially rubbing it in Chuck’s face is not why Shaq loves this idea. It all comes down to his school.

“I heard through the grapevine that they were having conversations with Nick Saban,” Shaq said in a recent interview. Nick Saban coming out of retirement would save college football. And if it were LSU, it would be another story. Does that mean O’Neal was just as frustrated about Brian Kelly as the rest of Baton Rouge?

Not really. It just boiled down to the Big Aristotle’s same old policy. “In Baton Rouge, that culture is all about winning,” O’Neal said. “I love Coach Kelly. He’s a fabulous man. But down there in Bayou Land, it’s all about winning. It’s all about winning the national titles.”

That’s not just a Tigers thing but also a Shaq thing. The guy who will always remind Chuckster he’s got four rings came close but didn’t win a championship for LSU before he was the first overall draft pick of 1992. To date, he maintains his regret over it. He elevated Angel Reese to the GOAT of LSU because she brought the 2023 championship. While Shaq’s got mutual respect for Kelly, the fired coach didn’t meet his standards either.

Shaq confirmed an important development at LSU

Shaq had a nearly similar opinion about the Tigers’ men’s basketball team. Calling Baton Rouge a “football town,” he said that the team needs to win championships to be as great as the football team or comparable to Angel Reese and Flau-Jae Johnson’s Lady Tigers.

LSU has been in chaos this past week. Usually, they would have campus parties headlined by DJ Diesel before bringing out the man himself to Tiger Stadium. Now their energies are on finding a new coach after buying out the remainder of Brian Kelly’s contract.

Among the many big names thrown into the hat was Nick Saban. It’s no coincidence O’Neal heard those rumors because Saban himself heard it too. He didn’t specifically indicate if he’d take the job if LSU made an offer, but he said, “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 be able to continue to be one of the best jobs in the country?” 

As per Saban, LSU has adapted to the NIL and transfer portal ecosystem in college sports. At least in basketball, the transfer portal brought them Angel Reese from Maryland. Shaq’s son, Shareef O’Neal, also transferred from UCLA to LSU after his heart surgery.

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Shaq’s more than just a banner in the gym and a bronze statue at LSU. He’s involved in the machinations of the athletic department, too. Usually, he helps Matt McMahon’s and Kim Mulkey’s teams get hyped. But he’s pretty much confirmed that his alma mater is pursuing Nick Saban.

O’Neal, however, is not holding his breath for this one. Saban has shown no inclination to come out of retirement. Shaq believes that if not the former Alabama coach, LSU will find someone who will transform the program.