Alabama Dems urge Nick Saban to challenge Tuberville for Senate
FILE – Alabama head coach Nick Saban reacts after running back Jase McClellan (2) scored a touchdown during the second half of the Rose Bowl CFP NCAA semifinal college football game against Michigan Monday, Jan. 1, 2024, in Pasadena, Calif. Nick Saban, the stern coach who won seven national championships and turned Alabama back into a national powerhouse that included six of those titles in just 17 seasons, is retiring, according to multiple reports, Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong, File)
The Alabama Democratic Party wants to trade out one college-football-coaching senator for another, signaling Wednesday that it would support a Senate campaign by retiring University of Alabama head coach Nick Saban against Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.).
On Wednesday, Saban announced he will retire after 17 seasons with the Crimson Tide, being remembered as the most decorated college football coach in the history of the sport.
The announcement sparked half-joking speculation that Saban could follow in Tuberville’s footsteps and also move into politics.
“Nick Saban for US Senate. Save us from Tommy Tuberville one more time,” Alabama political reporter Josh Moon said on X, formerly Twitter.
The state party agreed, adding “we officially second this.”
Saban has largely avoided politics throughout his career, but the coach has touted his childhood friendship with Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and endorsed his 2018 reelection campaign.
If Saban did choose to run, he would face off against Tuberville at the ballot box. It wouldn’t be the first time the pair went against each other.
Tuberville’s stint as head coach of Auburn University briefly overlapped with Saban’s tenure at its rival Alabama. The Tigers narrowly defeated the Tide in the 2007 Iron Bowl.
