Nick Saban the writer?

The ESPN analyst and former Alabama coach is set to write the forward for former Sen. Joe Manchin’s new memoir coming out in September.

St. Martin’s Press announced Tuesday that Manchin’s “Dead Center: In Defense of Common Sense” will be released Sept. 16.

There might not be a person in the world that knows Saban quite like Manchin.

The life-long relationship between the two men was featured back in 2021.

The two men formed a friendship at an early age. Back in 2021, the story of their fathers’ impact on the kind of men they grew up to be was illustrated.

According to St. Martin’s, Manchin, 77, will track his rise from the coal fields of Farmington, West Virginia, to the heights of power in the Senate. The publisher is calling his book a “revealing and entertaining memoir” in which Manchin “reflects on the pivotal moments, tough decisions, and core values that have shaped him as a person and a public servant.”

“Senator Manchin combines eyebrow-raising, never-before-told stories from inside the Senate and the White House with insights into how government does — or doesn’t — work,” the statement reads.

Manchin, 77, announced last year he wouldn’t seek re-election after serving in the Senate since 2010 and becoming the rare Democrat to win in a state which otherwise votes for Republicans by wide margins. Manchin had long branded himself as a moderate beholden to no ideology and would often chastise Democrats or upend legislation when Senate Democrats held a tiny majority during the presidency of fellow party member Joe Biden.

Last summer, Manchin left the Democrats altogether and identified as an independent, although he continued to caucus with his former party. In a statement issued through St. Martin’s, he said that “Dead Center” was a “declaration of independence” and a handbook for governing.

“I believe successful leadership in any arena is about understanding the art and science of collaboration and compromise, civility and respect, negotiations and solutions,” he said. “Leaders should be positive change agents and bring people and organizations together rather than drive them apart.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.