Dabo Swinney predicts Nick Saban 'ain't ever gonna retire'
Dabo's reasons include Saban eventually getting bored with playing golf all day, every day if he retired.
Dabo Swinney has his work cut out for him if his prediction about Nick Saban’s career turns out to be right.
The 49-year-old Clemson football coach — who signed a 10-year contract extension worth $93 million this offseason — has alternated national championships with Saban and Alabama the last four years, so naturally, they have the top-2 programs headed into the 2019 football season.
Swinney’s contract also features a pretty harsh penalty if he leaves to take over at Alabama, should Saban retire. But for at least one reason, he doesn’t think that’s a realistic possibility, telling ESPN’s Chris Low:
“Heck no, he ain’t ever gonna retire. What’s he gonna do? He ain’t gonna sit at the lake or go fishing, and he’ll eventually get tired of playing golf.”
Makes sense if you know anything about Saban. The legendary Alabama coach explained last year why he doesn’t see himself retiring any time soon, and his reasons include his wife, Miss Terry, not wanting him to be just sitting around at home.
Saban will be 68 this fall and shows no signs of slowing down.
He had “robotic assisted right hip replacement surgery” in April because, as he said, “I don’t want to coach for one more year, I want to coach for a lot more years.” Translation: Saban is slowly turning into a robot so he can, in fact, end up coaching forever.
Swinney’s prediction sounds pretty accurate. The defending national championship coach continued on about Saban:
“I think he’s just like most of us coaches. We enjoy our time when we get a break, but he loves what he does. I love what I do. I think we probably both are happiest when we’re in camp and just back to the grind of what we’re doing.
“And I know he’s 60-something years old, but I guarantee you he still handles himself and carries himself and feels like he’s probably 40. So he’s got a lot of energy. He’s got a lot in front of him. You can still see how passionate he is about what he does. I don’t see him retiring anytime soon, so he’s got a lot more football ahead.”
With the way the Tigers and Crimson Tide keep facing off in the College Football Playoff, we might see Bama vs. Clemson Part 5, Part 6, Part 7 and so on over the next few years.
And that would mean more friendly dinners, as Swinney mentioned. The two have a bet, which is turning into an annual tradition, that when their teams face off, the loser buys the winner dinner at a restaurant in Boca Grande, Florida, where they both have vacation homes.