LSU’s search for a football coach continues to draw national attention, and intrigue in the job spiked again when one of the school’s most prominent alumni indicated former coach Nick Saban could be a candidate. Shaquille O’Neal, the four-time NBA champion and Basketball Hall of Famer who played for the Tigers from 1989 to 1992, said he heard LSU may be in talks Saban about a return to Baton Rouge.

“I heard through the grapevine that they were having conversations with Nick Saban,” O’Neal told Us Weekly. “That’d be awesome if we can bring Nick back.”

Verge Ausberry, the school’s interim athletic director, quickly put that notion to rest.

“Nick Saban and I have a standing conversation probably every two or three weeks,” Ausberry said on 104.5 ESPN. “We’re good friends, first of all. He’s a person I admire a lot. Coach Saban was joking. No way he’s coming back to football, okay? Miss Terry’s not going to let him. That’s not going to happen. Let’s get that out of the way soon, because if he was and he was interested, I would drive down there and pick him up right now.”

Saban, 74, led LSU from 2000-04, capturing a national championship before departing for the NFL. He returned to college football in 2007 at Alabama, building one of the most dominant dynasties with six more national titles before retiring in 2023. This past weekend on ESPN’s College GameDay, Saban addressed speculation of a potential return to coaching and emphasized that tradition alone does not guarantee success in modern college football.

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“You’ve got all these external factors that are constantly changing,” Saban said. “Whether it’s the transfer portal, how much you can pay guys, revenue sharing, what kind of collective do you have? So, traditionally, how have you been able to adapt to that? … Some of the traditional jobs, like LSU, that people always looked at as one of the best jobs, have they adapted to all these things like they need to to continue to be one of the best jobs in the country?”

Saban later clarified that he has no plans to return to coaching.

For O’Neal, the focus remains on patience and optimism for LSU’s next hire. 

“We’re just gonna sit and see who they choose,” he said. “I know it will definitely be a winner and I know it’ll be somebody that’s in line with our culture. I know it’s somebody who’s going to bring us back to winning. We realize if you lose more than two games, we don’t get a significant bowl game.”

LSU fired Brian Kelly Oct. 26 after a 5-3 start in his fourth season. Kelly finished 34-14, with a single SEC Championship Game appearance, but was unable to get the Tigers to the College Football Playoff to contend for a national title. The decision led to the resignation of athletic director Scott Woodward, who had fallen out of favor with LSU stakeholders, including Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry.