The former Alabama football coach, Nick Saban, spent many years focused on football, game plans, recruiting, and winning championships. These days, his new obsession is golf.

The former coach played in the Regions Tradition Celebrity Pro-Am on Wednesday, and as always, the microphone found him. But this time, Saban did not talk about football. Instead, he talked about golf, and he spoke candidly about his passion.

"It's the love of my life, really, when it comes to sports now," Saban told PGA Tour Champions. "And I'm just happy that I can still play at my age."

Saban retired from coaching after the 2023 season, and since then, he has spent more time playing golf. One reason he enjoys it so much is that golf can be played year-round. Growing up, he played basketball, baseball, and football in different seasons, but he said golf is different.

"That's the one thing that you can do when you get older," he said. "So we make golf in season year-round."

He also drew a broader parallel between the sport and life itself, one that sounded less like a retired coach and more like someone who has found exactly where he belongs. "I think golf's a metaphor for life," Saban said. "You hit a good one, you've got to deal with it. You hit a bad one, you've got to deal with it."

Nick Saban Rules Out Coaching Return and Miss Terry Has the Final Say

Reporters caught up with Saban before his round, and football came up quickly. He admitted to missing parts of it.

"I miss coaching a little bit. I miss the relationships with the players. I miss the competition. But it's a trade-off," Saban said, per comments to Paul Finebaum.

He retired as the most decorated coach in college football history, having led Alabama to six national championships.

His replacement, Kalen DeBoer, was also at the Regions Tradition Pro-Am on Wednesday. DeBoer recently signed a contract extension with Alabama, and Saban publicly supported the decision when reporters asked him about it.

"I think coaching is a competitive field, just like playing is a competitive field," Saban said. "I think Kalen's had a lot of opportunity, and I think if Alabama wanted to keep him, they needed to do what they needed to do to keep him. I'm happy he's the coach."

Any personal comeback, though, would require Mrs. Terry Saban's blessing. That's not coming. "Miss Terry says, 'If you take a job, you're commuting.' She's not moving. She's not leaving the grandkids. She's not leaving any of that," Saban said.

Is a return off the table, then? "No, that's probably right," he confirmed.

Read more at Club Golf!

Written by

Sneha Abraham

Edited by

Pulkit Prabhav