Here's the role Steve Sarkisian sees for Nick Saban in retirement from Alabama football

MIRAMAR BEACH, Fla. — Texas coach Steve Sarkisian doesn't know SEC spring meetings with Nick Saban. Sarkisian is attending his first this week with the Longhorns joining the SEC starting this fall.

So he couldn't answer what it was like for the newly retired Saban not to be in attendance for the conference's annual meetings for the first time in years. But Sarkisian, knowing Saban well having coached for and against him, could speak easily when the topic of Saban was brought up Tuesday before meetings began.

"I'm just curious did he stay here the night or did he fly here and fly back?" Sarkisian said with a grin. "I want to know if he and Miss Terry had two bunkbeds in their room."

Saban retired in January after 17 seasons leading the Crimson Tide and winning six national championships for Alabama. Kalen DeBoer, the coach at Washington, was named as his replacement and will lead the Crimson Tide this fall.

Sarkisian, who served as an analyst and offensive coordinator under Saban in Tuscaloosa, said he's spoken some to Saban since his retirement.

"I think he's doing great," Sarkisian said. "I thought his analysis for the NFL Draft was incredible. I've even had a chance to visit with a couple different NFL teams and coaches. They even commented on some of the thoughts he had on different players."

But Sarkisian foresees a bigger role for Saban than just commentary. Even in retirement, the unofficial commissioner of college football is expected to have an impact on college football, if you ask Sarkisian.

"I think he's going to be great on GameDay and being an ambassador for our sport," Sarkisian said. "That's something that he did at Alabama as the head coach and really when he was at LSU. And now he's got a bigger stage to again be an ambassador for college football and do it the right way."

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Nick Kelly is the Alabama beat writer for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network, and he covers Alabama football and men's basketball. Reach him at nkelly@gannett.com or follow him @_NickKelly on X, the social media app formerly known as Twitter.