I gotta admit...I haven't watched it much the last few years unless it was on a day with a huge Bama game and I was curious of the opinions, and certainly when they were in Tuscaloosa.
That said, I'm watching right now. And Coach Saban is killing it. He's still Coach, and you can tell he does his homework on teams in order to be a great analyst, much like he did when coaching- preparing to be the best he can be at what he's doing.
But, he's also markedly more light-hearted. Being seated between McAfee and Herbstreit, two media figures that he's obviously liked over the years, I'm sure helps. I'm pretty sure the lighter-hearted demeanor is also a product of him being able to be a little more rested now that he's not grinding for 49 weeks a year.
Also observing that he's exponentially less "robotic" or uncomfortable like we've seen from him in commercials and media appearances before. That's obviously because of his "ID rather be studying film" than doing it before. But, again...now that he's not coaching anymore, he's able to kick back and actually enjoy this, since his focus isn't on something more important. He's smiling a lot more than we're used to seeing him.
He's clearly enjoying this new chapter in his career, and he's doing a great job.