With talks of who might take the recently available head coaching position for Penn State football, dreams of Nick Saban coming out of retirement to lead to the Nittany Lions (3-0, 0-3 Big Ten) surfaced. The already far-fetched candidate got even further away after one of his former players spoke on the theory.
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Fox Sports analyst Mark Ingram commented on this far-fetched hope on Friday. He said there's no chance Saban returns to the college football field to coach.
"Negative, negative," Ingram said after asked if Saban would have any interest in the Penn State job. "It would surprise me, but I would bet my bottom dollar that Coach Saban ain't coming out of retirement. That man's living a good life . . . I can't see him coming back and taking that job."
Fox Sports analyst and former Alabama star Mark Ingram shoots down rumors connecting Nick Saban to the Penn State job:
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 17, 2025
"Negative ... I would bet my bottom dollar that Coach Saban ain't coming out of retirement." pic.twitter.com/Ova8ursNeY
Ingram played for Saban at Alabama from 2008-10 and became the first Crimson Tide player to win the Heisman Trophy. During the 2009 season, he rushed for 1,542 yards and 15 touchdowns. He also had three receiving scores and 322 yards on 30 catches.
In regards to his former coach, Ingram said that the changing landscape of the college football world, specifically NIL, was one of the reasons Saban retired. Having players return and demand money is something Saban was not only unfamiliar with, but did not want to endure as a head coach.
NIL has an increasingly more prominent role in college athletics, so while Saban's return from retirement was already a long shot, the financial aspect of college football is just another reason to squash dreams. Though Ingram's word is not the end-all-be-all, hoping for Saban to lead the blue and white is grasping at straws.
The former coach isn't the only one whose rumors were put to rest. Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti signed a historic deal with the Hoosiers that will keep him in Indiana for the time being. He's one of the initial potential candidates who seemed enticing given his Pennsylvania ties. Like Saban, though, that door is closed.
Outside of those two hopeful reaches, though, the Nittany Lions have a number of more likely and still impressive candidates. That includes, but is not limited to, Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule and Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady.
Buffalo Bills OC Joe Brady is a perfect candidate for the Penn State job