Who said the Auburn vs. Alabama rivalry is one of the biggest? For Nick Saban, it was Tennessee that he saw as their biggest rival, not the Tigers. But Saban is now setting aside old rivalries, as he joins Lipscomb Academy in Tennessee to host a school event.

This event hosted “An Evening with Nick Saban” at Lipscomb Academy on May 8 in order to bring in college football’s top leaders to the campus. Saban, who purchased a minority ownership stake in the Nashville Predators, will be a keynote speaker, taking a Q&A session at the George Shinn Center.

He will empower young minds with his vision on football, with nearly 30 years of experience. The event will celebrate Saban’s journey, which includes winning seven national championships and developing numerous players and coaches. This event holds extra importance for the Lipscomb Academy athletic director, as the money raised from the event will go straight to the athletic department.

“Coach Saban’s presence not only inspires our coaches and athletes but also demonstrates our commitment to providing first-class experiences that prepare our students to compete at the highest levels,” Lipscomb Academy athletic director Jake House said.

Now, this move seems perfectly normal until you dig into Saban’s past with Tennessee. Back in 2024, while talking about the biggest rivalries, Nick Saban made it clear that Alabama vs. Auburn is not the one game he sees as a rivalry game. But their game against Tennessee is something that feels more like it.

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“For our players, this was a bigger rivalry than any game we played; I’m talking about rivalry games. Even bigger than Auburn to our players,” Saban said. “It was most difficult for me to get our players up for the Auburn game. It was never difficult for the Tennessee game.”

For Saban and his players, the Tennessee game carries more emotional weight than Auburn’s game, and the results justified his words, too. Alabama lost to Tennessee only once during Saban’s tenure, falling 52-49 in 2022. Apart from that, Saban never lost to them and ended his tenure with a 16-1 record against the Vols. But on the other side, he had a 12-5 mark against Auburn.

So, his taking a keynote session for a Tennessee-based high school and buying stakes there is a pretty shocking move. For now, the sale of the keynote session will go on sale on Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. Now, on one side, Saban’s turning heads with his move. On the other side, his successor is getting tested.

Kalen DeBoer faces a genuine threat in replacing Nick Saban

The pressure to fill Saban’s shoes has been immense for Kalen DeBoer, a challenge made steeper by early setbacks, including a stunning loss to Vanderbilt that ended a 40-year winning streak against the Commodores. Then last year, he did take Bama to the playoffs but lost against Georgia and Indiana. Now, those inconsistencies are creating problems for him, and even analysts are not liking the dip.

Stephen A. Smith questioned whether DeBoer actually fits the bill to replace Nick Saban.

“I’m not a fan of Kalen DeBoer as a successor to Nick Saban. I have no problem with him as a football coach. I’m fully aware of what he did at Washington. I’m fully aware of what he did before that. I know the man wins more than he loses,” Smith said. “But when I think about Nick Saban, the man who I had the pleasure of getting to know, who flew me to Alabama on a couple of occasions to talk to the football team, to watch him in action, to watch what a standard bearer he was, how he lived on accountability.”

For Smith, those blowout losses against Florida State and Indiana wouldn’t have happened under Saban’s watch. But let’s not forget NIL and the transfer portal have changed the entire dynamic of college sports. Every team has strong NIL contacts, and who doesn’t? They are fighting for relevance. Either way, if Alabama fails this year too, Kalen DeBoer might not be with them, looking at constant pressure.