October 31 is known as Halloween across all 50 states, but in Alabama, the day has another meaning: Nick Saban’s birthday.

The Alabama coach turned 71 on Monday amid his 50th year in coaching and 16th for the Tide.

Questions about retirement have become more frequently posed to Saban in recent years, and earlier this year he brushed off retirement as an “empty abyss” and later spoke how potential boredom remains a “scary thought” to him.

The questions have not stopped.

“I get asked that a lot, especially by recruits and their families,” Saban said Oct. 20 on his weekly “Hey Coach” radio show. “I get concerned — and you’ve heard me say this before — like, what are you going to do if you do [retire]?

“I mean, you enjoy what you’re doing now. You enjoy the grind. I kind of enjoy — people always ask me how you keep going — I kind of enjoy the grind of the week and preparing for the game, getting ready for the game, setting up the game plan, doing all that, just as much as the game itself.

“I can’t answer that. I really can’t. I certainly would never want to ride the program down if I didn’t feel like I was doing a good job.”

Saban signed a contract extension in August through the 2029 season, when he will turn 78. He is the second-oldest FBS head coach after North Carolina’s Mack Brown, who turned 71 in August. The two winningest Division I coaches of all time, Joe Paterno and Bobby Bowden, coached until they were 84 and 80, respectively.

Now with two young grandchildren, Saban has learned to better manage this time in the offseasons.

“We’ve got little blocks where it’s right after recruiting, maybe spring break, couple weeks in the summer so that you’re not just completely burned out all the time in terms of what you’re doing,” he said. “I’ve learned how to do that better. And I think family has helped me do that, because I enjoy so much being with Miss Terry and I enjoy so much being with our kids and grandkids and that’s helped so much.”

But Saban, who recently detailed his day-to-day schedule during football season, has a singular focus during those months.

“There is only one priority during football season,” he said. “I come home on Wednesday night — that’s the only night of the week that I eat at home. That’s the only night that Terry cooks and we all eat together — sometimes the kids come over. Most of the time they come to the games. My mom comes to the game, so I see them after the game. Get to spend some time if we have a day game. Get to spend very little time if we have a night game.

“So, really, there isn’t — it’s almost like you’ve got to be totally committed to what you’re doing during the season.”

Mike Rodak is an Alabama beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @mikerodak.