Nick Saban never planned on becoming the head coach at Texas — despite a flurry of rumors that insisted otherwise.
Saban finally put all of the speculation to rest Friday, when he agreed to a multiyear contract extension with Alabama. While rumors swirled that the 62-year-old could leave Tuscaloosa for Texas — to take a coaching position that is not even vacant — Saban announced after signing his new deal with Alabama that he never considered the move.
“The way this sort of got spun, it was a little bit more like, ‘OK, he got a new contract at Alabama, so he’s going to stay at Alabama instead of going to Texas,’ ” Saban told ESPN.com’s Chris Low. “I never considered going to Texas. That wasn’t even a conversation.
“I knew that if Mack stepped down, there would probably be an opportunity, but it wasn’t something I was interested in doing, not at this stage in my career.
Mack Brown has been at the helm of the Longhorns for 16 years, and although his future with the university remains unclear, Saban was adamant that he would not be the one to succeed him when Brown does step down. The Alabama coach, who is expected to earn upwards of $7 million per year, made it clear that Tuscaloosa is where he wants to be and where he will end his career.
“I don’t want to go someplace else,” Saban said. “I don’t know how many times I can say that.
“Maybe this will be what the Cleveland Browns, Tampa Bay thing was to the NFL the last couple of years. That kind of ended the pro speculation. Maybe this will end the college speculation. This is where I’m going to finish my coaching career.”
