Nick Saban NFL return rumors: Insider drops massive detail on legendary Alabama coach to scratch NFL "itch"

Rumors of Nick Saban's return to coaching in the NFL after leaving college football in 2023 continue to be a hot topic.

Last week, former quarterback Greg McElroy claimed to have heard from someone "very much in the know" that the Hall of Famer would end his retirement after spending 2024 in the studio. However, he partially went back on his word the next day, saying he had been misunderstood.

Fast forward to now, though, and Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer has resumed the speculation. On Monday's episode of Dan Patrick's eponymous show, he said (from 00:24 in the video below):

“I would say that maybe there’s an itch that he wants to scratch, or he wants to at least explore scratching in the NFL... I think the possibility exists that maybe he looks at it and says, ‘If there is a situation where I can win quickly, where there’s a quarterback — I don’t feel completely satisfied with what happened in Miami 20 years ago.’”

For context, in his pro debut in 2005, the Miami Dolphins finished 9-7 despite a weak quarterback room, just missing the playoffs. The following year, they nearly signed Drew Brees before the team's medical staff refused to medically clear him, citing the severity of his shoulder injury.

They had to settle for Daunte Culpepper, who struggled with knee and shoulder injuries before being put on injured reserve. The Dolphins finished 6-10, and Saban resigned to join Alabama afterward.

Brees, meanwhile, joined the New Orleans Saints and kickstarted that franchise's most successful season to that point, culminating in their first-ever NFC Championship Game appearance.

---

Nick Saban linked to Browns amidst rumors of coaching return

One team that Nick Saban could theoretically join is the Cleveland Browns.

Despite being the franchise's most successful head coach since its reactivation, Kevin Stefanski is facing speculation about his job security after the failure of the Deshaun Watson era. Colin Cowherd made this pitch in his eponymous podcast on Sunday (from 27:37 in the video below):

“Jimmy Haslam loves publicity. They’re probably the worst team in the league. Arch Manning goes to Cleveland. The Mannings know Saban. He coached in Cleveland before. They would be the most interesting team in the league. They would give him a five-year, $75 million deal. I think Nick would do it.”

Sportsnaut's Jason Burgos also made a similar pitch, while also linking him to the NFC East's Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants.