It’s that time of year again.

Nick Saban retirement speculation season.

Saban at age 72, has Alabama football in the College Football Playoff’s Rose Bowl semifinal. Surely an eighth national championship is the perfect cover for one of the greatest coaches ever to ride off into the sunset.

Of course, none of that comes from the man himself.

“It’s always going to be out there,” Alabama defensive coordinator Kevin Steele said Friday. “It’s always going to be out there. I will tell you this: Nobody knows that answer except him.”

Saban is in his 17th season at Alabama. It’s been a run of unprecedented success, that’s shown off his ability to adapt with the times and stay relevant.

Over the last decade, the retirement whispers have been a constant, getting just a bit louder every season. They had certainly begun by the time cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry joined the Tide in the recruiting class of 2021.

But on Friday, McKinstry said he didn’t have any opposing coaches using a pending Saban retirement to sour him on his plan to attend Alabama.

“I really never even really thought about that,” McKinstry said. “I never had a thought in my head when I was in recruitment that Coach Saban would ever be retiring or not being the coach at Alabama. I always knew he would be here for my four years.”

For one thing, Saban has made clear how much he loves coaching. As a reporter asked Steele during the press conference, how the hell would he fill his time?

“That’s a good question,” Steele said.

It’s why defensive end Justin Eboigbe said he’s not concerned for an impending Saban departure.

“No. No. He always say ‘Why would I walk away and do what?’” Eboigbe said. “First day I came in he still has the same fire and passion that he does now. I truly believe him. I know when I was getting recruited people said he was going to walk away, and he still hasn’t.”

Safety Malachi Moore said the topic of Saban’s retirement did come up from other schools during his recruitment

“I did hear that throughout recruiting and something like that,” Moore said. “But being around Coach, I don’t think he going anywhere any time soon. I think he still having fun with it.”

Alabama faces Michigan at 4 p.m. Monday in the Rose Bowl. The game will be aired on ESPN.