Insider Greg McElroy addresses Nick Saban being favorite for President Donald Trump's sports commission

Former Alabama coach Nick Saban has become a staple of college football broadcasts as part of ESPN's "College GameDay" after retiring from coaching in January 2024. Saban balanced his ESPN duties with a role as a member of the SEC Network's panel for SEC Media Days.

On May 1, Saban met U.S. President Donald Trump before he gave the commencement speech at Alabama, and speculation abounded about the former coach being appointed to a college sports commission. A week after the president gave the speech, On3 analyst Pete Nakos revealed that Saban would be appointed as the co-chair of the commission alongside Texas Tech Red Raiders Board of Regents chairman Cody Campbell.

During Monday's edition of "Always College Football," ESPN analyst Greg McElroy, who won a national championship under Saban, gave his thoughts on the speculation linking his former coach with the college sports commissioner job.

"Nick Saban is in line to be the co-chair and I don't think I can think of a better person to lead this commission and help illustrate to those members of the group how we can alter college football, how we can fix college football, how we can sustain what college football is for 150 years," McElroy said (33:00). "So, I love that Nick Saban is involved."

SEC coach backs Nick Saban for commissioner's job

The idea of Nick Saban being named the co-chair of President Donald Trump's sports commission has received mixed reactions from fans and analysts. During Friday's episode of the "Welcome Home Tour" podcast, South Carolina coach Shane Beamer believes Saban would perform well in the proposed role.

“I don’t know enough about it," Beamer said. "I think if you’re looking for anyone to spearhead change or be in a leadership position when it comes to college football going forward, he’s (Saban) the first person that would come to mind from my standpoint. I know a lot of people would say the same. Don’t know enough about it, but all for it.”

After he retired from college football, Saban revealed that one of the reasons he decided to leave unexpectedly was due to the unregulated nature of the NIL era that had permeated college sports. According to On3 analyst Pete Nakos, one of the matters reportedly under the purview of the proposed presidential commission will be the scope of NIL, with the former Alabama coach in a position to streamline it.