What decides whether a head coach has been successful or not? When the fans keep talking about his comeback even after a year of his retirement. For GOAT Nick Saban, his name is enough to prove his power. 3x Bobby Bowden Coach of the Year, seven national championships, 23 bowl game appearances with 16 victories, and the list continues. That’s when the former Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Greg McElroy stirred some suspense for the fans.

“A very much in the know person that I have a lot of respect for and have spent a lot of time around, and just really, really admire – they seem to think Nick Saban is not done coaching,” McElroy came up with his theory. The fans were already going gaga. A month later, the GOAT himself broke the silence on his former quarterback’s cooked-up news.

On August 18, Saban took the stage for the Nick Saban Legacy Awards. Obviously, the topic of his hitting the ‘comeback’ button did come up. And Saban pulled off a stern head coach reaction, but we know he was just being funny. “I don’t know where that came from,” the former Alabama head coach said while laughing.“Greg McElroy played quarterback for us, and if he had done something like that as a player, he would have got his a** kicked.” Today, McElroy is known for his impeccable role as a college football analyst. But his career peaked as he served as the quarterback at Alabama.

McElroy thrived under Saban’s coaching for four years and won a national championship with him in 2010. Even though there has been a slip by the former Alabama quarterback, he soon realized that the chances of Saban’s return look grim. On the On3 podcast with J.D.PicKell, he shared, “He gets a taste of football three hours a week on Game Day. I think he’s still in the game, but he’s very involved with Nick’s Kids Foundation, which he cares greatly about. He loves playing golf. So, I don’t think he’s coming back.” 

Talking about Saban missing his Tuscaloosa camp? Well, the GOAT enjoys the privilege to continue making Alabama a part of his post-retirement journey as he now plays a consultant role for the Crimson Tide. But at the same time, he has too many things on his plate. Saban is now more focused on his Nick’s Kids Foundation. So he is now willing to enjoy reminiscing about the sweet aftertaste of his notable career. But so what McElroy changed his take on Saban’s new chapter in head coaching? He has already spread panic among the present college football head coaches.

As on the Jox 94.5 podcast, Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz raised his complaint to McElroy. “I want to thank you [Greg] for putting me on the hot seat. You know, when you started this rumor about Saban coming back, the board started looking into my contract. See if they get rid of me and bring Saban back to the University of Missouri. So, you know, appreciate you doing that,” said the Tigers’ head coach. Now that McElroy knows the Saban era is not going to return, he is concentrating on the present head coach, Kalen DeBoer.

Greg McElroy breaks down Alabama’s present situation from Nick Saban to Kalen DeBoer

DeBoer is already running on borrowed time. As ESPN analyst Harry Douglas shared, “You have to follow a legend like Nick Saban, and you don’t make the College Football Playoff in your first year. You don’t play for an SEC Championship. I tell you one thing, fans are not gonna wait.” This was then doubled down by Cousin Mike on his podcast, “No excuses for Bama. If they don’t make the playoffs this year, I’m not saying they got to win the SEC like I’m projecting, but if they don’t make the playoffs, we should fire Kalen DeBoer.”

As if all these were not enough for DeBoer to know how he is already in neck-deep water. McElroy stirs up some more warnings. On the ESPN College Football podcast, he shared how under Saban, Alabama leaned heavily on pattern-match man: defenders key the route, then cover it like man. But under DeBoer, they’re adding more zone concepts, leading to defenders keeping their eyes on the field. The end result? Fewer chances for mobile QBs to make big plays with their legs.  

As McElroy noted, “This is an Alabama defense that is a little bit more based in zone. Still run a lot of man. Not going to get away from what they’ve always done. They still have great cover guys on the outside, but there’s going to be more eyes in the back field. You know what that leads to? Less opportunities for the opposing quarterback to manufacture big plays with his legs.” The Crimson Tide will be facing off against the Florida State Seminoles in their season opener. 

And that’s already a threat with the Seminoles’ revamped WR group with Squirrel White and Duce Robinson. Kalen DeBoer better patch the leaks fast, digging into Nick Saban’s old playbooks. Otherwise, his farewell horns may start playing.