Former Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban has left a massive hole in the sport of college football since he announced his retirement after the 2023 season.

Though Saban has stayed involved and become a critical fixture on the ESPN College GameDay desk, as well as trying to help the future of college athletics through his efforts in government NIL decisions, he will always be missed on the sidelines and some want to see him come back.

For as unlikely as that may seem, a rumor — first reported by former Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy — surfaced at SEC Media Days last month that Saban is interested in a return.

Since the initial story, it has been widely debunked by many including Saban himself, but he was asked again about the story — and let McElroy have it in true Saban fashion.

“I don’t know where that came from,” Saban said at the yearly Nick Saban Legacy Awards ceremony in Birmingham. “Greg McElroy played quarterback for us, and if he had done something like that as a player, he would’ve gotten his ass kicked.”

After taking a jab at his first title-winning quarterback in Tuscaloosa, Saban talked about what it’s been like with Miss Terry when it comes to him being retired as well as revealing what he misses the most.

“I don’t think she misses it…But when I come home at three o’clock in the afternoon now, she says, ‘What are you doing here?’ I say, ‘I live here,’” he said. “She’s used to me not being around, which is OK when it comes to getting a few golf games in…But I think what I miss the most, which was my biggest fear, is being a part of a team .The relationships you have with players and coaches and people in the organization and how you can impact them — I’ve been a part of a team since I was nine years old playing Little League baseball, and I had a tremendous fear that I would miss it. And that part I miss.”

Saban also told the audience what he does not miss about coaching.

“But the working 14 hours a day, the recruiting, the changes that we’re going through in college football, the challenges that that presented was a little much at my age and the last year I coached, and the last game I coached against [Michigan] was really, really difficult. So I thought it was the right time. She thought it was the right time. We don’t have any regrets. We’re happy to be part of a team on ESPN on GameDay. I speak and we have businesses, so I try to keep busy. I think that’s been very helpful.”

It’s safe to say that while Saban may miss some parts of coaching, he’s happy at home and isn’t coming back anytime soon.