When now-former Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban announced his retirement last week, some speculated he could be on the same path as U.S. Senator and former Auburn head coach Tommy Tuberville with a run for office.
According to U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV), those hoping to see a Nick Saban campaign are going to be disappointed.
“First of all, you can put it out of your mind, because Nick won’t run. He would never run,” Manchin said to USA Today while on a tour in New Hampshire.
Saban has mentioned the possibility of a career in broadcasting — something he is already quite skilled in. He has also talked about a desire to be at the forefront of the fight to get things under control in this changing age of college football.
“I will be dedicated to college football and the future of college football and trying to make that sport as well as other sports in collegiate sports, whether they’re revenue producing or not because I think they all create opportunities for lots of people. I’m going to be an advocate for trying to make the game as good as it can be,” said Saban in a post-retirement interview with ESPN’s Rece Davis.
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While Saban said himself that NIL was not a factor in his decision to walk away, Manchin thinks it may have been more of a reason than Saban let on.
“It turned it into a fiasco. It is going to destroy collegiate sports…At the end of the day, I bet you’ll find out that there was a bunch of them that said ‘OK, Coach Saban, I want more money or I want to be in the transfer portal.’” And he probably just said, ‘Enough is enough.’ That’s just my gut,” Manchin said.
Alabama has now officially hired former Washington head coach Kalen DeBoer to take over for Saban.
While it will be fascinating to see what exactly the legendary Nick Saban does in retirement, don’t count on him running for office anytime soon.
Michael Brauner is a Senior Sports Analyst and Contributing Writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @MBraunerWNSP
