Nick Saban gives LSU Tigers a harsh dose of reality as head coaching search continues

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The LSU Tigers have had quite the week of excitement already. Since losing in blowout fashion to Texas A&M last Saturday night, the Tigers fired head coach Brian Kelly and Athletic Director Scott Woodward, seen schools move on their top recruits, and hear about transfer speculation. It also seems as though Lane Kiffin isn’t too interested in the Tigers, so the coaching search isn’t off to a great start.

Now, former LSU and Alabama head coach Nick Saban is adding more fuel to the burning fire. While Saban wasn’t intentionally mean, the ESPN analyst offered a fair and critical take on both LSU and Florida as the SEC tries to poach top coaching talent. So far, neither search has been proving to be prudent.

Check out what Saban said on the Pat McAfee Show below.

Nick Saban analyzes how LSU head coaching job looks post-Brian Kelly

Saban said LSU has to adapt to the modern college football landscape a bit and used how Indiana and Vanderbilt have rapidly improved using the transfer portal. While LSU was quite active in the portal last offseason, Saban’s bigger point is that the Tigers have more competition and are no longer massively ahead of the field.

“I think that’s why you see Vandy, Indiana — places who have not historically been traditionally great jobs, actually having a lot of success now, because they have managed the external factors very well to bring it in house so that they can function effectively. So what’s to say LSU, Florida — they’re traditionally the best jobs, but are they the best jobs now? Relatively speaking, based on how they’ve adapted to the external circumstances that really affect your ability to be successful in college football.”

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He continued on the topic of maximizing transfers over relying on the development of prospects.

“I think that’s a great strategy,” Saban said. “If you’re in a place that historically has a lot of good players coming out of high school, if that guy went to another school, I would track that guy’s career from day one. That’s because eventually, you can get him back. Bring him back. If you lose the first time, get him the second time.

“And you might be better off because he might have developed a little bit and he could be more ready to play and more mature. So, I would definitely do that and that’s definitely something LSU should do like Texas did (with Quinn Ewers).”

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This story was originally reported by A to Z Sports on Nov 1, 2025, where it first appeared in the College Football section. Add A to Z Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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