There have been rumors that Nick Saban may be the one that Penn State is looking for to replace the recently-fired James Franklin. However, during Saturday’s “College Game Day” show, Saban slammed Penn State for firing Franklin, who had been very successful in coaching Penn State until he had a three-game losing streak to teams that the Nittany Lions could have beaten.
Saban noted that Franklin’s firing had been unfair and gave several examples of how the former Penn State coach had been very successful in guiding the Nittany Lions:
“It’s unfair as hell for you to go to the Rose Bowl, the Fiesta Bowl, get in the Final Four. Come out, being ranked number one this year — an expectation that you created by what you accomplished at Penn State — and for those people not to show enough appreciation for that and gratitude for all the hard work that you did, I’m saying it’s unfair,” he said.
NEW: Nick Saban takes aim at Penn State for firing James Franklin:
“It’s unfair as hell for you to go to the Rose Bowl, the Fiesta Bowl, get in the Final Four. Come out, being ranked number one this year — an expectation that you created by what you accomplished at Penn State —… pic.twitter.com/DOmcqMwDSn
— On3 (@On3sports) October 18, 2025
Penn State, with Heisman candidate Drew Allar leading them, started the season strong, going undefeated with 3-0. However, the team then had a three-game losing streak. To make matters worse for the Nittany Lions, the team then lost Allar to a season-ending injury, halting his campaign not just to win a national title, but also the Heisman.
Nick Saban Shoots Down Penn State Coaching Rumors
During that same show, Patt McAfee addressed the rumors regarding his co-host, Nick Saban, and the rumors linking him to the vacant head coaching job at Penn State. He asked Saban’s wife, Miss Terry about those rumors, and she stated flat out that no, her husband is not coming out of retirement and coaching Penn State.
Nick Saban himself reacted to this jokingly, confirming that he is not after the Penn State coaching job:
“Mrs. Always Right has spoken,” he said.
Earlier in the year, there were also rumors that Saban would be coming out of retirement, this time to either go back to Alabama or coach in the NFL. The team linked to him was the Cleveland Browns, but he and Miss Terry shot down those rumors as well.
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