Nick Saban made a point about job loyalty that’s often easily forgotten

Despite being the country’s best coach at a premier job, Nick Saban has been tied to jobs away from Alabama, most recently at Texas. He was a top target for the Texas job, and was reportedly interested in listening, but ended up staying with the Crimson Tide.

So why hasn’t Saban left yet? He made an oft-forgotten point about job loyalty in an interview with ESPN, when he said he sees staying in Tuscaloosa for the rest of his career.

”I think a lot of it isn’t just about the coaching part. What people don’t understand is they forget you’re a person. They forget you have a wife and two kids and a grandbaby, and they all live in Birmingham.

“They all work here. My wife goes to Birmingham five times a week. My mom lives in Birmingham now after moving from Myrtle Beach. It’s not just the job. A lot of people don’t get that. My life is here.”

Coaching is just like any other job. Most of the time, people want to move up the ranks and get more money, but there are also lifestyle factors that can change things, especially if a person’s job is already great. Is it always worth uprooting your life for a small promotion or even a lateral move, especially if you’re happy?

Lots of people have favorite cities or personal ties that affect their career, and coaches are the same way. Take Gary Andersen. He seemingly took a step down by leaving Big Ten West champion Wisconsin for Pac-12 bottom feeder Oregon State, but he made the switch at least partly due to lifestyle — he wanted to live on the West Coast.

This isn’t to say Saban wouldn’t leave for Texas for $10 million, because nobody — and probably not even Saban — knows that right now. But there are reasons besides money and program status to believe Saban when he says he wants to stay in Tuscaloosa forever.