Do the players miss the GOAT as much as he misses the sidelines and the gridiron? In a perfect world, if not for NIL, Nick Saban would still have his headset on, dictating tempo and matchups instead of sitting behind a microphone. But it’s not a perfect world, not for the man who built Bama into the SEC’s axis of dominance, and certainly not for the Alabama Crimson Tide today, dropped at No. 19 under Kalen DeBoer after a humbling loss to Florida State. Sure, a 73-point avalanche over unranked Louisiana-Monroe gave Bama a worked as a confidence gatherer, but does it really matter? And when you look at the state of the program, you wonder if Saban doesn’t watch the Tide and quietly itch for a comeback.

As of now, that’s not going to happen. What Nick Saban admitted recently cuts deeper than just football. On The Pat McAfee Show, he opened up: “I miss the relationships with the players, the development, and I loved seeing guys give themselves a better chance to be successful in life because of the leadership and the influence.” He went further, admitting the quality of life is better now—no longer worrying about his “125 children running around campus.” For him, coaching was never just about schemes. It was parenting in cleats.

That’s what makes his confession so poignant. It’s not the championships, the trophies, or even the NFL pipelines that he misses. It’s the grind of relationships, the growth he witnessed firsthand. As he put it, watching 18-to-22-year-olds mature under his system was as satisfying as a perfect game plan. That approach—equal parts disciplinarian and mentor—made Saban one of the rare few who could take high-level pro concepts and get college kids to execute them flawlessly. That balance of control and compassion is why his legacy runs deeper than rings. Saban pulled back the curtain to explain why managing 100+ teenage or college-aged dudes is a terribly difficult challenge. “Alright, 125 guys running around on a campus, 60% female, with no curfew,” Saban pointed out. “It’s a hard thing.”

There’s a fascinating layer behind the curtain. Appearing on the Beat Everybody podcast, On3’s Chris Low revealed just how close Alabama’s coaching search brushed against another titan of the sport. “Nick called Dabo the next morning, those guys are close, to let him know what was going through his mind. And I think, just to talk to him, where Dabo was in his career. Greg Byrne made this call, and I don’t think Dabo was ever really seriously in consideration as far as Greg Byrne was concerned.” Those words show how Saban still operated as a behind-the-scenes counselor, perhaps easing the transition, perhaps probing what could have been.

But money always lurks in these conversations. Dabo Swinney’s massive 10-year, $115 million contract signed in 2022 included a staggering clause—an extra $9 million buyout just for Alabama, three million more than for any other school. It was a built-in firewall, designed specifically to keep the Tide from luring Clemson’s prodigal son home. Alabama’s AD made the final call, but that contractual mountain ensured the climb would’ve been impossible anyway. Saban’s respect for the process is clear, but it underscores how the chessboard of CFB has changed in the NIL era—where contracts and payouts now matter as much as player development.

Saban still has a warning for his friend. Clemson has stumbled badly out of the gate in 2025, falling to LSU in Week 1 and narrowly surviving Troy in Week 2. It’s not exactly the kind of start that inspires national confidence. While Saban didn’t press the panic button, he noted the Tigers have one glaring issue that needs fixing in a hurry.

Nick Saban sends a warning on Clemson’s real problem

Nick Saban isn’t one to mince words, and his latest comments cut straight to the heart of Clemson’s early-season struggles. While some fans and analysts have been quick to turn the microscope on Cade Klubnik, Saban sees it differently. He doesn’t believe this is about the quarterback being out of his depth—it’s about what’s happening, or more accurately not happening, in front of him.

Saban was asked if Clemson should start thinking about moving on from Dabo Swinney. He stopped short of that suggestion, but his words carried weight. “I think you can look into this way too much,” Saban said. “In my opinion, the one issue that Clemson has is that, first of all, their best wideout is out. But their offensive line has not performed very well. I mean, the quarterback has been under duress the whole season. In the LSU game, this guy is running for his life. And it affected him.”

That was Saban, once again distilling the game into its essence. Protection equals production. “One of the goals you always have on defense when you are playing against any quarterback is, ‘Can we affect the quarterback?’ And when you don’t have a good offensive line, that makes it a little easier to be able to do that. Klubnik is a really good player. But he hasn’t had the opportunity to play very effectively this year. And I think it is because of the pressure he is getting.” The solution, Saban said, isn’t complicated. “So they need to fix their situation on the offensive line.” Coming from the greatest to ever do it, that’s less advice and more of a warning shot across the bow in Clemson’s direction.