If any question remained as to whether Nick Saban will ever return to college football, the former Alabama football squashed it. During an appearance on the Pivot Podcast, which features former NFL players Ryan Clark, Fred Taylor and Channing Crowder, who played for Saban with the Miami Dolphins, the man who won six national titles in Tuscaloosa said he would prefer the pro game now.

“If I was going to coach today, based on the circumstances in college and in the NFL, I would coach in the NFL, because all those things in college have changed,” Saban said on the show, which was released Tuesday. “The whole idea of what college used to be is not there anymore. It used to be, you went to college to develop value for your future. Now, people are going to college to see how much money they can make.

“And I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with that, but you change the whole dynamic of the importance of getting an education, making good decisions and choices about what you do and what you don’t do to create value for your future. You changed that whole dynamic.”

Saban coached the Dolphins for two seasons in between college stints. He left LSU to take the Miami job, before opting to return to the college ranks with the Crimson Tide.

He retired in January of 2024 after 17 seasons in Tuscaloosa. Saban didn’t stop working long, quickly joining ESPN as an analyst on College Gameday.

Saban said on the Pivot Podcast that the current state of college football has changed since his career began.

“I’ve got NFL coaches calling me complaining about these guys have no ability to sustain and persevere and overcome adversity because they’ve never had to do it,” Saban said. “They just pack up and leave as soon as something doesn’t go their way. That’s what I always enjoyed about college, developing those things that help guys be successful.

“Now, the system has changed where that’s not even possible anymore. And I think the players should get paid in college, I just think the system that we’re doing it in is not really beneficial to them and their development in the future.”