📡 Steve Spurrier on idea of Nick Saban retiring: 'He can go into his 70s easy'

[Mark Heim | mheim@al.com]

Steve Spurrier on the idea of Nick Saban retiring: "I told him he won't retire until he loses three games in a season. He told me, 'If I ever lose three games around here again, they might kill me.' I think he was joking, but I'm not sure."

Leave it to Steve Spurrier to break it down in terms we can all smile about.

The former Florida and South Carolina coach was asked about Alabama coach Nick Saban as he nears a hypothetical retirement.

Saban, 66, coming off a College Football Playoff national championship, open spring practice Tuesday in Tuscaloosa with the Crimson Tide.

"Nick ain't thinking about retiring, not even close," Spurrier told ESPN.com. "He can go into his 70s easy, and I think he will.

"I told him he won't retire until he loses three games in a season. He told me, 'If I ever lose three games around here again, they might kill me.' I think he was joking, but I'm not sure."

Saban, who has won six national titles (five at Alabama and one at LSU) as a coach and entering his 12th year in Tuscaloosa, has no plans of slowing down anytime soon.

"That's what everybody keeps saying, that I'm not going to be doing this for much longer, and all the people who say it have no idea what I'm going to do," Saban told ESPN. "I've been involved in some fashion with football and being a part of a football team ever since I can remember. I don't know what it would be like not doing it, and don't want to know."


Mark Heim | mheim@al.com
Steve Spurrier on idea of Nick Saban retiring: 'He can go into his 70s easy'

 

[TerryP]

Chris Low made a comment yesterday that the one SEC record he didn't see being broken, ever, was the 159 career wins Coach Bryant had in conference play. Saban currently sits at 107 SEC wins.

Seven years, 56 SEC games (at the minimum.) 52-4 would mean three undefeated SEC regular seasons. Add a few SECCG wins...and we've got another record that falls.

 

[50+yeartidefan]

Wouldnt that be awesome.....7 more years...(hell fire...I hope I make it 7 more years)
If he dont stroke out on the sidelines....up by 30 with a minute to go and somebody jumps offsides...
.....how he takes care of himself.....but they will start recruiting against his age...if Kirby...er...i mean sec coaches haven’t already started...

 

[TUSKtimes]

You never really know how a man really feels about his legacy. Coach Saban says he doesn't care about numbers and really hasn't stopped and thought a lot about what 6 NCs means for him, especially in comparison to coach Bryant. Time might be the only thing that will answer that riddle. But whether legacy really matters or not, Saban wants to coach for the most selfish reason of all, he loves it. That much I'm thoroughly convinced of and that in itself is a lot to have in common with coach Bryant.