NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Nick Saban knows his strengths with seven national championships as a college football coach. He also understands how to put coaches and athletes in the best position to succeed.

That’s what he hopes to bring to the NHL’s Nashville Predators after joining the franchise as a minority owner.

“I’m no expert in hockey, so don’t look at me like I’m going to make some huge impact coaching around here because that’s not going to happen,” Saban said Monday. “But I do have a pretty good idea of what it takes to have successful organizations.”

Saban made his first appearance Monday in his new role as a minority owner alongside Predators chairman Bill Haslam.

The Predators announced Saban’s purchase Dec. 16 through Dream Sports Ventures LLC, an entity controlled by Saban and business partner Joe Agresti. That business group features 10 car dealerships, including two in Nashville.

Haslam, a former Tennessee governor, was working on a possible WNBA expansion franchise when Saban told the Predators controlling owner that he also might be interested in hockey.

“I thought, ‘Well, that’s the greatest no brainer of all time,’” Haslam said. “You have somebody who understands building a championship culture, who understands, I think, better than almost anybody in sports the process that’s needed to get to where you can compete as a champion.”

Saban grew up in West Virginia with no hockey around. He became interested in hockey when coaching at Michigan State and became friends and shared ideas with that team’s coach. Saban called this an opportunity to be involved with a team for the first time since he announced his retirement Jan. 10, 2024.

So what will Saban bring to the NHL and the Predators in his newest role?

His experience building programs both in college football and six seasons in the NFL working for Bill Belichick in Cleveland and as head coach of Miami. A “transformational leader” as Saban put it. Once college football season ends, Saban said he will be involved as much as Haslam wants.

Saban already has spoken to coaches and some players during what he called a minicamp. Saban also has met a couple times with general manager Barry Trotz, saying his goal is to support Trotz and everyone else with the Predators.

Nashville won the Western Conference before losing the Stanley Cup Final in 2017 to Pittsburgh in six games. The Predators won the Presidents’ Trophy for the 2017-18 season but ranked 26th out of 32 NHL teams Monday five points back of the second wild-card spot in the West.

“To be a part of the hockey team here is something special, and we’d love to build it into a championship,” Saban said. “We’d love to partner with Mr. Haslam to do anything that we can do to help this organization be successful.”

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WCIV) — One day after South Carolina received word that star quarterback LaNorris Sellers was staying in town, another star said he plans to return to the fold.

Dylan Stewart, the Gamecocks’ star edge rusher, announced he is returning for his true junior season in 2026, according to Pete Thamel, ESPN’s college football insider.

Stewart has 11 sacks in his two seasons at South Carolina and has forced 6 fumbles. Among ESPN’s draft projections, he appears to be a top prospect for the 2027 NFL Draft.

READ MORE | “South Carolina QB LaNorris Sellers stays put, vows stronger return for 2026 season.”

The former five-star recruit and rising SEC pass rusher chose continuity over the transfer portal, agreeing to an NIL deal that places him among the highest compensated non-quarterbacks in college football, according to ESPN’s reporting.

South Carolina’s defense is back in reliable hands, as the Gamecocks ready themselves to bounceback from a 4-8 season.

After the pitiful finish, South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer shook up his coaching staff.

South Carolina is also expected to hire Penn State defensive line coach Deion Barnes as the defensive end and outside linebacker coach.

He’s been Penn State’s defensive line coach the past three years and worked with the line there since 2020. He coached Abdul Carter, Chop Robinson and Adisa Isaac.

READ MORE | “South Carolina to kick off 2026 football season at home against Kent State.”

Until Michigan officially hires a head coach, the name Kalen DeBoer is going to be mentioned with the search. Even after DeBoer released statements saying he would stay with Alabama, rumors are out there. Folks in Ann Arbor might have been cheering for Oklahoma on Friday night to potentially speed up the process.

Instead, Alabama is heading to the Rose Bowl to face Indiana on Jan. 1. So, if DeBoer was going to be Michigan’s hire, the wait will continue. Which is exactly what ESPN’s Rece Davis believes the Wolverines should be doing in this situation.

“From Michigan’s standpoint, if that’s the guy you want, wait,” Davis said via the College GameDay Podcast. “If it takes waiting until they finish, if they were to upset Indiana, wait if that’s the guy you want. Why settle? One portal class, one recruiting class is not worth settling for a program like Michigan. Now, I understand the concept that there’s no guarantee you’re going to get him. I get that. But if you are convicted that this is your guy, wait it out. See what happens, push forward.”

If Alabama were to win in Pasadena, the next College Football Playoff date would be Jan. 8 or 9. A run to the national championship means DeBoer would not be done coaching the 2025 season until Jan. 19. But Davis mentions no singular NCAA transfer portal and/or recruiting class is as important as getting the right guy for Michigan.

When it comes down to it, Davis does not think DeBoer will leave Tuscaloosa this offseason. Those released statements were viewed as pretty telling in Davis’s eyes. And at the end of the day, DeBoer is still looking to prove to be the guy who can replace Nick Saban at Alabama.

“I do not think Kalen DeBoer will take the job,” Davis said. “Ultimately, because I don’t think he wants to be perceived as running from what he ran to. Michigan’s a great job. If he does, he does, and great for him if that’s what he decides. I don’t think he will end up doing that. Maybe he will.”

The latest update on where the Michigan coaching search came from On3’s Pete Nakos on Saturday. Nakos outlined who the top candidates are at the moment, mainly after Kenny Dillingham signed an extension to stay in Tempe with the Arizona State Sun Devils not too long ago.

A multitude of college football players are set to look for a new home for the 2026 college football season.

In the weeks before the NCAA transfer portal opens, quarterbacks across college football have expressed their desire to explore new destinations. These quarterbacks include DJ Lagway of Florida, Sam Leavitt of Arizona State, Josh Hoover of TCU and Brendan Sorsby of Cincinnati.

One intriguing name in the portal quarterback is former Nebraska signal caller Dylan Raiola. He will enter the transfer portal with two seasons of eligibility remaining.

Raiola is expected to command around $2.5 million in NIL compensation from whatever school he lands at.

One school that has entered the sweepstakes for Raiola is Louisville. Steve Wiltfong of On3 mentioned the possibility of Raiola joining the Cardinals in a recent edition of “Wiltfong Whiparound.”

“They can be a program to keep an eye on for Dylan Raiola,” Wiltfong said.

In the three seasons Jeff Brohm has coached at his alma mater, Louisville has not started a quarterback it recruited from high school.

Former Purdue and California quarterback Jack Plummer transferred to Louisville and started for the Cardinals in 2023. The Cardinals acquired a former Oregon and Texas Tech quarterback from the portal to be their starter in 2024. Brohm brought in former USC quarterback Miller Moss to be the Cardinals’ starter in 2025.

The 6-foot-3, 230-pounder arrived at Nebraska as a freshman in 2024 as one of the highest-rated recruits in the country. Raiola started all 13 games for the Cornhuskers and set a program record for passing yards by a freshman with 2,819 yards to go along with 13 touchdown passes and 11 interceptions.

He guided Nebraska to its first bowl win since 2015 with a defeat of Boston College (20-15) in the Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl.

A broken fibula cut Raiola’s 2025 season short after nine games in early November. He passed for 2,000 yards, 18 touchdowns and six interceptions in his abridged season with the Cornhuskers.

Nebraska (7-5, 4-5) will face No. 15 Utah (10-2, 7-2) in the SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl on Dec. 31 to end the season (3:30 p.m. EST, ESPN).