NEWYou can now listen to PK Press Club articles!
The spotlight shines on Death Valley as the LSU Tigers search for their next head football coach.
Although an Ed Orgeron reunion has not yet been ruled out, interim athletic director Verge Ausberry has crossed one name off the list.
Nick Saban was touted as a potential candidate, and it was LSU alumnus and Basketball Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal who stoked the rumor mill after telling Us Weekly that he “heard through the grapevine” conversations had been had with Saban about putting him back on the sidelines.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON PK Press Club
Nick Saban speaks during ESPN’s College GameDay at Vanderbilt University on October 25, 2025 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Carly Mackler/Getty Images)
“It would be great if we could bring Nick back,” O’Neal told the outlet.
Ausberry, appearing on 104.5 ESPN, denied the rumors.
“Nick Saban and I have an ongoing conversation probably every two or three weeks,” he said. “We’re good friends, first of all. He’s someone I admire a lot. Nick Saban was joking. No way he’s coming back to football, okay? Miss Terry won’t let him. It’s not going to happen. Let’s put this aside soon, because if he was and he was interested, I’d go over there and pick him up right away.”
EX-LSU COACH ED ORGERON EXPRESSES INTEREST IN RETURNING TO TIGERS AFTER BRIAN KELLY SHOT: “PHONE CALL”
Saban’s dynasty with the Alabama Crimson Tide gets all the attention, but his first national title came with the Tigers during his tenure as head coach from 2000 to 2004. He then left college football for a chance in the NFL with the Miami Dolphins, but after that stint didn’t work out, he landed in Tuscaloosa — and the rest is history.
Saban won six national titles with Alabama, building one of the game’s greatest dynasties before his surprise retirement in 2023.
With all the head coaching firings in college football this season — Penn State’s James Franklin was the biggest before the Tigers let Brian Kelly sit four years into his 10-year pact with the university — Saban discussed a potential return to the sport on ESPN’s “College GameDay.”
Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban looks on before the SEC Championship game against the Georgia Bulldogs at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on December 2, 2023. (John David Mercer/USA TODAY Sports)
“There are all these external factors that are constantly changing,” Saban said of the current college football landscape, which he has spoken about in the past. “Whether it’s the transfer portal, how much you can pay guys, revenue sharing, what type of collective do you have? So, traditionally, how have you been able to adapt to that?
“Have some of the traditional jobs, like LSU, that people have always considered one of the best jobs, have they adapted to all of these things that they need to continue to be one of the best jobs in the country?”
Saban added that he has no plans to return to the bench again.
Kelly was fired after losing three straight games to ranked opponents following a 5-0 start to the season. He finished his LSU career 34-14, which included only one appearance in the SEC Championship Game. He also failed to get the Tigers into the College Football Playoff.
Nick Saban is on stage at ESPN College GameDay before the University of Oklahoma-Michigan college football game in Norman, Oklahoma on September 6, 2025. (IMAGINE)
It wasn’t just Kelly who was forced out in Baton Rouge, as athletic director Scott Woodward was also forced out, although he officially resigned. He had fallen out of favor with LSU stakeholders, including Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry, who publicly stated that Woodward would not choose the next head football coach.
With Saban’s name ruled out, Tigers fans and the rest of the college football world will continue to wait to see what LSU does with its vacancy – as will other programs across the country.
