This is an opinion column.

Greg McElroy is no dummy.

The guy was a finalist to be a Rhodes Scholar at the end of his time as Alabama’s quarterback.

So he’s not your average media guy.

That’s what made Monday morning’s headline moment so interesting.

Or confusing.

He made himself the SEC Media Days main character and then seemed annoyed by the response.

Nick Saban might not be done coaching?

That’s the nugget he dropped at the end of a segment with Paul Finebaum on the WJOX radio show he does daily, along with Cole Cubelic.

“A very much in the know person that I have a lot of respect for and have spent a lot of time around and just really, really admire, they seem to think Nick Saban is not done coaching,” McElroy said. “He’s pretty adamant that he thinks Nick Saban will be coaching again.”

Uhhh…

What?

That would be the biggest news bomb at media days since the Texas/Oklahoma move to the SEC dropped at the 2021 event.

“If it wasn’t someone notable, I would never say a word,” McElroy said when the initial statement was met with skepticism.

The story spiraled from there as it became the topic of the day.

A year ago, Saban was still the star of the show as he made one of his first TV appearances in his new job with ESPN. Now he’s the center of attention again because of his genius former quarterback’s radio show.

And it’s almost like McElroy didn’t realize the hornet’s nest he kicked.

As the story grew legs, McElroy was asked about it on the SEC Network later Monday morning. He tried to explain he didn’t think Saban would return to coaching but was simply relaying the fact that somebody or somebodies important who are telling him this.

“Interpret that however you will,” McElroy said before explaining they are “people who would be somewhat knowledgeable about something like this” when Finebaum asked him to name his sources.

Maybe this was Deep Throat blowing the top off Watergate.

Or McElroy, though smart, is no Woodward nor Bernstein.

As Finebaum and others on the SEC Network continued to needle McElroy about the news he made, the level of frustration rose.

“You want to talk about a nothingburger,” McElroy said rolling his eyes as Finebaum joked about breaking news about to drop. “Unbelievable.”

Finebaum zinged him again a little bit later as they went to commercial.

“What is wrong with you?” McElroy said with a grin but unmistakable frustration. “You are getting us in trouble just saying it. Everyone is overreacting. Goodness gracious.”

Right, well there’s a good rule of thumb to consider here for McElroy.

You can’t drop a bomb and then be surprised it blew up.

You really can’t do that at a media beehive like the one buzzing Monday in Atlanta.

This story went viral at the speed of light because of course it did. This conference could use the star power that has been lacking since Saban retired from coaching in January 2024.

Nobody credible has even hinted at the idea of Saban trading his ESPN College GameDay headset for one he’d likely throw on a sideline.

So to suggest the 73-year-old could be even considering trading the golf course for August grass drills, it’s going to be seismic.

Of course this happened the same day Lane Kiffin made the media day rounds. And the former Saban OC didn’t miss the opportunity to go full Gramatica on McElroy’s hornet’s nest.

“I have thought that,” Kiffin said on the SEC Network set. “I have thought that it would be one year in the media, then back. And I kind of thought it might be the NFL just because he’s so sharp still.”

This story had all the elements of an SEC Media Days mini-drama.

It was dismissed by almost everyone who discussed it — even by the former QB who launched it — but it still dominated the day.

This event always crowns a main character.

A decade-and-a-half after striding into SEC Media Days as Alabama’s national championship-winning quarterback, Greg McElroy became the star of the show.

He planted a seed on Birmingham radio that grew like a weed, whether he liked it or not.

Michael Casagrande is a reporter for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @ByCasagrande or on Facebook.