Nick Saban is "scared to death" of the thought about not being a part of a team. Good thing he's the best coach in college football and won't ever unvoluntarily face that fear.
The future Hall of Famer is entering his 11th season as Alabama head coach. He has seven SEC championships (five at Alabama), five national championships (four at Alabama) and just 13 losses over the last nine years. At 65 years old, he's the fourth-oldest head coach in the FBS and second-oldest at a Power Five program.
Following the retirement of Bob Stoops, 56, Saban was asked about his plans for the future.
“As long as I feel good, I love doing it,” Saban told Aaron Suttles of The Tuscaloosa News. “I’ve said this before. I’ve been a part of a team since I was 9 years old, and it scares me to death to figure what it’s going to be like when I’m not a part of a team."
Though Saban has shown no signs of slowing down, signed a contract extension earlier this year that runs through the 2024 season and from all indications is in good health, his retirement will eventually come.
MORE: Ranking the Top 100 Teams in College Football
“As long as I feel healthy and I can do it, we certainly have every intention of trying to do it," he added. "If I felt like I couldn’t do it to the standard that I want to do it then I think that would be time not to do it. But I certainly don’t feel like that’s any time soon.”
Saban has been coaching since 1973, his first year as a grad assistant at his alma mater Kent State. He has not missed a season and has been a head coach since 1995.