Former Alabama coach Nick Saban joining ESPN as analyst on 'College GameDay'

Nick Saban is headed to ESPN.

The sports media company announced Wednesday the decorated former coach, who retired from Alabama nearly one month ago, will be joining its popular college football pregame show "College GameDay." The 72-year-old seven national championship winner will join the program as an analyst on the set and he will contribute to the network's NFL draft coverage, as well as the SEC Media Days.

Saban joins the crew headlined by host Rece Davis, as well as analysts Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard and Pat McAfee.

"ESPN and College GameDay have played such an important role in the growth of college football, and I’m honored to have the opportunity to join their team," said Saban. "I’ll do my best to offer additional insights and perspectives to contribute to College GameDay, the ultimate Saturday tradition for college football fans."

Saban's first assignment with ESPN will be announced at a later date, the company said, but he's no stranger to ESPN programming. He recently has made regular appearances on "The Pat McAfee Show," which now airs on ESPN, and he was on several college football shows during his tenure as the Crimson Tide head coach.

"College GameDay" is coming off one of its most successful seasons, with the 2023 season being its second-most watched year since 2011 and fourth-most all time in its 30 years. ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro said in a statement Saban is an "extremely gifted communicator" who will "immediately add even more credibility, authority and entertainment value to ESPN."

Saban retired as Alabama head coach in January after spending 17 seasons in charge of the program. In his tenure, the Crimson Tide won six national championships, nine SEC championships and eight College Football Playoff appearances. He also won a national championship as head coach at LSU, making his seven national championship wins the most in Division I history. His last game came in the 2024 Rose Bowl in the College Football Playoff, which was an overtime loss to Michigan.

Saban's overall college football record was 297-71-1.