Nick Saban doesn’t hand out podcast appearances like candy, so when he showed up on Travis and Jason Kelce’s New Heights, there was a simple explanation: his daughter pushed him into it.
Saban said on the show that he usually sticks to his own rule. “I don’t do podcasts,” Saban said. “I mean, this is the second one I’ve done in my life.”
He said he made an exception for two reasons - family and respect. “I refuse to do it, but my daughter loves you guys, and she convinced me that I should do this,” Saban said.
“And I have tremendous respect for you guys, so I wanted to do it for you guys. But I just want to leave a message out there for everybody else: I’m not doing this sh-t anymore.”
Jason Kelce introduced him with a little extra flair, calling Saban “the 1972 MAC champion defensive back from Kent State” before labeling him “the greatest college football coach of all time.”
The Hall of Famer retired after the 2023 season with seven national championships, one at LSU and six at Alabama. He now serves as an analyst on ESPN’s College GameDay, and Kelce pointed out that Saban had just turned 75.
Saban never named the daughter who talked him into the appearance, but he has two children and Kristen Saban is his only daughter. A 2013 Alabama graduate, she once worked in the football program’s recruiting department and still posts regularly about Crimson Tide football and pop culture.
She’s also been paying attention to New Heights. In August 2025, when the show teased a mystery guest, she noticed Jason Kelce’s Eras Tour shirt and posted, “do not play with us @newheightshow we are spiraling !!!” Taylor Swift showed up on the episode days later.
The podcast stop also fits into a busy stretch for the Saban family. Kristen posted video of the family singing to him a day before his Oct. 31 birthday, and ESPN aired the finale of its six-part “Saban” docuseries Thursday night. Saban said the project came together after he and his wife, Miss Terry, decided they “were ready to tell our story.”
His New Heights appearance comes on a packed weekend for college football. GameDay is headed to South Bend for Miami at Notre Dame, and Saban’s two former teams meet in Baton Rouge.
At LSU, Saban went 48-16 and won the 2003 BCS national title. He later went 13-5 against the Tigers as Alabama’s head coach. Both LSU and Alabama enter with two losses, and Rece Davis has called LSU, now coached by Lane Kiffin, “this year’s Miami.”
Alabama visits LSU at 3:30 p.m. ET Saturday at Tiger Stadium.
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