I’m not going to spend all season patting myself on the back, but I will point out that I called Nick Saban leaving Alabama for College GameDay months before it happened whenever there’s an opportunity. I think he looked around at the state of college football and at the future of Alabama and realized that there is nothing left for him to do. Any accomplishment would be part of a list and not the headline. Why stay? So, could it happen again? You bet it could! College football coaches have never been more publicly displeased with the state of their sport.
Not every coach moving to TV would shake college football the way Saban did. A guy getting fired or forced into retirement and then showing up on a TV set is not the same as the GOAT looking at what may have been one of his best coaching performances and saying “okay, that’s enough.”
Even at Saban’s age, if he was just done with life in Tuscaloosa, someone else would have hired him. So, while Mack Brown seems like an obvious pick to be on a list of candidates to be “the next Nick Saban,” I don’t think he qualifies.
To be “the next Nick Saban,” a coach has to be able to make a serious impact on the sport with his exit. That impact can be felt in the way the sport is covered or shifting the power in conference or national championship races.
So, could it happen again? Yes, but the list is very short. Here are the four candidates to be “the next Nick Saban,” leave the sideline and head to a studio or broadcast booth after this season.
JAMES FRANKLIN (PENN STATE) – It’s possible to be a really good coach and just hit a ceiling. That’s what it feels like has happened to Franklin. A little over a decade ago, he worked a miracle at Vanderbilt. That earned him the Penn State job, and in 2024, it sure seems like he has taken the Nittany Lions as far as he can.
Franklin is charismatic. He is respected by his peers and he has enough wins and accolades under his belt to be considered a “big get” by any network.
I don’t think this would be an easy sell to Franklin though. No matter how a hypothetical end at Penn State looks, he is just 52 years old. Not only will he still have the drive, it’s very likely that some other program would want him on their sidelines. But would it be a program that could pay him as much as ESPN, FOX or another network could? That might be the determining factor.
MIKE GUNDY (OKLAHOMA STATE) – By any measurable metric, Gundy is the most successful head coach in the history of Oklahoma State football. He also has a personal history of making it very clear he does not want to be in Stillwater, Oklahoma anymore.
From the mullet to the exotic pets to the political opinions, I have always thought that Gundy is carefully crafting an image for himself. Maybe that image paints him as unserious in the eyes of athletic directors, but it is the kind of personality broadcasting embraces.
Maybe the new, wide-open era of the Big 12 has breathed new life into his coaching career, but at 57, maybe he’s done banging his head against a wall. If the Cowboys aren’t a playoff team this year, I don’t think the idea of Mike Gundy walking away for a comparable, if not equal salary that comes with much less stress is that far-fetched.
DEION SANDERS (COLORADO) – Come on. It’s pretty obvious that he doesn’t want to be doing this when his kids leave Colorado. Not only is he bad at it, but he also clearly can’t stand the headaches that come along with being a P4 head coach.
Let’s be clear, Sanders would be a monumental hire for whoever pulled the trigger. Talk about his record all you want, the man is a celebrity and still one of the two or three best defensive backs college football has ever seen.
DABO SWINNEY (CLEMSON) – Okay, admittedly, this would be my idea of hell. I have talked to Dabo twice and have always thought the on-field persona is genuine, but man is he exhausting!
Swinney, by all accounts, loves football, but the business of football is clearly getting to him. He can’t stand the transfer portal and he begrudgingly accepts that NIL contracts are part of his life now. It’s the fans, though, that may be his undoing.
He could be a home run on TV. He’s as charismatic as it gets in college football. He has great relationships with some of the biggest names covering college football. It wouldn’t be hard to imagine him in a top booth or on a network’s pregame show if that’s what he wants.
Demetri Ravanos is a columnist and features writer for Barrett Media. He is also the creator of The Sports Podcast Festival, and a previous host on the Chewing Clock and Media Noise podcasts. He occasionally fills in on stations across the Carolinas in addition to hosting Panthers and College Football podcasts. His radio resume includes stops at WAVH and WZEW in Mobile, AL, WBPT in Birmingham, AL and WBBB, WPTK and WDNC in Raleigh, NC.
You can find him on Twitter @DemetriRavanos or reach him by email at DemetriTheGreek@gmail.com.
