Football World Erupts Over Latest NFL News Involving Nick Saban originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
After a legendary 17-year run in Tuscaloosa and multiple coaching stops before that, Nick Saban announced his retirement from football in January 2024.
Despite that departure from coaching, It didn’t take long for him to find a new lane, joining ESPN’s “College GameDay” as one of the network’s marquee personalities. Saban was a breakout presence throughout the 2024 season and is expected to return to the desk when the new season kicks off in late August.
That said, Saban’s name suddenly resurfaced in NFL headlines on Wednesday — sparking fan speculation — after Fox Sports analyst and “The Herd” host Colin Cowherd tried to connect the dots among the Browns, Saban as a potential head coach and Texas quarterback Arch Manning.
“This is the worst-kept secret in the South,” Cowherd said. “Haslam — Jimmy — the Browns’ owner, a huge SEC and Tennessee booster, leans heavily on the Manning family. … Arch Manning is part of that family. This is where Saban comes in. He’s incredibly close to both Jimmy Haslam and the Mannings. If he could land a top quarterback — like Harbaugh going to the Chargers for Herbert —he’d absolutely take a phone call from the NFL.”
Colin Cowherd has heard that the Browns and Jimmy Haslam are eyeing both Arch Manning and Nick Saban 👀👀👀pic.twitter.com/MZUEgXIlE9
— ESPN Cleveland (@ESPNCleveland) July 23, 2025
This jibes with what Saban himself said earlier this year on “The Pivot” podcast with Ryan Clark, where he admitted that if he ever returned to coaching, it would likely be at the NFL level. He pointed to the shifting landscape of college football, NIL deals and the ever-expanding transfer portal as reasons for his departure.
“I love coaching pro ball,” Saban said. “And if I was going to coach today, based on the circumstances in college and the NFL, I would coach in the NFL — because all those things in college have changed.”
At the end of the day, all of this could amount to nothing more than speculation. Saban would be on the cusp of turning 75 by the time he’d realistically consider returning to the sideline, and it would have to be a near-perfect situation to lure him back into coaching.
Saban was on the Browns staff under Bill Belichick early in his career and was the head coach of the Miami Dolphins from 2005 to 2006, posting a 15–17 record over two seasons before returning to the college ranks and furthering his legacy at Alabama.
Still, Cowherd’s comments sent shockwaves through the football world, with fans trying to wrap their heads around the idea of Saban even entertaining a job in Cleveland — or possibly New Orleans — at this stage in his life and career.
“Saban coming to fix the Browns would be his biggest accomplishment yet,” a fan said.
Someone else added, “I can definitely see Saban and Manning in New Orleans. Talk about upping the worth of your franchise.”
Another person wrote, “Bring Nick Saban back to Cleveland! Do it now.”
“Tell y’all the funny part Nick Saban said it his self Shedeur was the best QB in the Draft lol let that sink in,” one more fan commented.
Related: Shedeur Sanders Hit With Sour Comments on Browns Future
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 24, 2025, where it first appeared.