In January of 2024, the college football world shifted.

That was when Alabama coach Nick Saban retired from the game. Since then, Saban, 73, has been an analyst for ESPN’s “College GameDay.”

However, former Crimson Tide quarterback Greg McElroy said he had heard Saban could return to the game. It has been the talk of the first day of SEC Media Days.

Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin believes his former boss isn’t done coaching.

But what about the guy that broke the news that Saban was retiring? Does he see a scenario where the analyst returns to the sidelines?

“I don’t see it,” ESPN’s Chris Low told AL.com on Monday. “I guess you never say never. Nick will be 74 in October. I think probably the person who’ll make that decision is Miss Terry. I don’t think Nick makes that decision. I’m being facetious there.

Low explained – in talking with Saban – he learned how difficult it was for the former coach to hang up the whistle.

“He loves coaching,” Low said. “He loves being in the locker room, loves being with the players. He made that decision to walk away, and it was for good.

“I don’t ever see him getting back into the NFL. I know he’s not crazy about the climate right now in college football in this era of (revenue) sharing and NIL.”

That’s not to say Saban couldn’t win, Low said.

“He’s great at adapting and evolving as he has proven through his career, but I don’t see coaching horizons out there for him. He’s a competitive guy, I know that.”

Kiffin, on the other hand, called coaching an addiction for guys like Saban.

“That’s why I never thought it would last,” Kiffin said of Saban’s retirement. “It’s been two years, and I still don’t think it will last because of that addiction to it.

“He has the highest level of addiction to it because he’s the same guy that goes to a little kids camp and he is coaching it the same way because he is so into it. He’s screaming at them. He’s yelling at them. They got the helmets on like at Alabama. Half the kids don’t come back the second day.”

Mark Heim is a reporter for The Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Mark_Heim. He can be heard on “The Opening Kickoff” on WNSP-FM 105.5 FM in Mobile or on the free Sound of Mobile App from 6 to 9 a.m. daily.