James Franklin was a coach who had taken the Nittany Lions to last year’s College Football Playoff semifinals, only to watch everything collapse in a matter of weeks. For now, interim coach Terry Smith is steadying the ship, but he’s not the long-term plan. But while the coaching search is going at full speed with big names like Matt Rhule and Curt Cignetti buzzing all over, there is one more name that is adding an extra level of intrigue and excitement. Former Alabama head coach Nick Saban isn’t really missing out on the heat.

During ESPN’s College GameDay, Miss Terry Saban brushed off a question about her husband returning to coach at Penn State. She started laughing, because even a $50 million offer wouldn’t pull him away from retirement. “I have no doubt if Nick wanted to go back to coaching, he could win his 8th national championship.”

Miss Terry added. “But we’re having too much fun, and we wouldn’t want to take that opportunity away from our baby coaches like Kirby and Lane.” Both Kirby Smart and Lane Kiffin were defensive and offensive gurus, respectively, under Saban’s tutelage at Alabama.

Now, Penn State is a type of program that needs its next hire to be of a winning pedigree. And even Nick Saban himself has echoed the same emotion. “Obviously, they’ve got to hire somebody that has a history of having some success, who knows how to develop a program and continue to win, and to deal with success,” Saban said on the ‘Pat McAfee Show.’

The issue started when Franklin was tagged as someone who can’t win the big games. The 2025 season ruined all the hopes when Penn State lost to UCLA and Northwestern back-to-back. That’s why the need for a winning mindset coach is very important. But Saban is not the one for this job. The seven-time national champion retired in 2023 after 17 seasons and 206 wins at Alabama. After that, Saban transitioned to a pundit role on ESPN’s “College GameDay.” Now, the 2025 offseason saw a little light when rumors were flying all around about Saban’s return to the coaching sphere.

But Nick quickly put those speculations to bed, saying, “I’m really happy with what I am doing right now. It’s exciting to still be involved in the game.” On top of that, Miss Terry really likes her husband being at home. But Miss Terry made sure Nick kept busy. She gave him what he calls the “ Ten Commandments of Retirement.” Now, Nick trades his intense game-day playbook for household chores. He’s gotten pretty good at tasks like making the bed, taking out the trash, and mastering the location of light switches. On top of that, he has really improved his ‘reply faster’ game.

So obviously, with all this happening, Miss Terry wouldn’t really want her husband to wear those headsets again. And on top of that, Miss Terry really showed her faith towards her husband when she said that if he enters the coaching sphere, he will win his 8th national championship.

Nick Saban’s rock-solid decision to stay put

Penn State can literally empty its treasury for Nick Saban, but the former coach is not going to wear that headset again. If you don’t believe that, former Alabama and NFL running back Mark Ingram has shot down the swirling rumors. During a recent Fox Sports appearance, Ingram was blunt on Saban’s chances of returning to the sidelines. “Negative,” Ingram said. “It would surprise me, but I would bet my bottom dollar that Coach Saban ain’t coming out of retirement.”

73-year-old Saban is really enjoying his retired life. He is golfing, spending quality time with his wife, Miss Terry, and working in media on ESPN’s College GameDay. However, there was a little buzz surrounding his footing in politics, but that was to navigate the NIL scenario in college football. But that was the very sole reason Saban left the field. NIL deals and transfer portals changed the game drastically.

And Saban was uncomfortable with players demanding money and contracts. “Usually, you come off a season, you have exit meetings, guys are seeing how they can get better. You got guys coming into the exit meetings, demanding targets, demanding a certain amount of money,” Ingram said. “He just wasn’t used to that man.” Though some analysts, like Fox Sports’ Joel Klatt, have suggested Penn State’s athletic director Pat Kraft should at least call Saban.

In order to see if there is the slightest chance of him rethinking. But Ingram’s perspective about him suggests otherwise.