Former Alabama football coach Nick Saban involved in Predators’ GM interviews, per report
According to a report from Elliotte Friedman, the Nashville Predators are getting help from former Alabama coach Nick Saban in their GM search.
As the Nashville Predators continue their search for a new general manager, they may be getting some help from former Alabama football coach Nick Saban . According to a report from Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman, Saban has been assisting majority owner Bill Haslam during recent in-person interviews. "I believe that in this round of in person (interviews), Nick Saban’s played a pretty big role," Friedman said on an April 17 episode of 32 Thoughts: The Podcast.
"I think he’s asking questions, I think he’s sizing up the candidates. " Saban became minority owner of the Predators in December, purchasing stake in the team alongside business partner Joe Agresti through Dream Sports Ventures LLC. After retiring as coach of Alabama in 2024, Saban became part of the ESPN "College GameDay" crew before showing interest in sports ownership.
He was also a part of Haslam's bid to bring a WNBA expansion franchise to Nashville in 2025. When Predators current GM Barry Trotz announced his retirement in Feb. 2, Haslam initially hired CAA to help guide the search.
That didn't last long – CAA withdrew from the search a week later , citing potential conflict of interest. BARRY RETIRING: For Barry Trotz, it was about choosing family over being Predators' GM From there, the Predators chose to keep their search internal, which apparently involves Saban. "The guy’s been very successful," Friedman added.