Did Nick Saban nearly take New York Giants’ coaching job?

Did Alabama coach Nick Saban nearly jump the Crimson Tide ship this offseason to become head coach of the New York Giants? According to a published report, the king of college football coaches came “very close” to doing just that before the Giants hired Ben McAdoo.

From the New York Post:

“They got his deal done with [Ben McAdoo] and they are ready to sign him, and they get a call from Bob Ehrman [an intermediary] who says Nick Saban wants the job,” Arnold told ESPN’s Paul Finebaum. “So they had to stop. This is a Saturday night. They said, ‘You have until Sunday morning at 8 a.m. to say a definite yes. Tell us what he needs for money.’ ‘Well, he needs $10 million to start with and this is the deal. He has to get it approved by his wife right.’ Well, he has to get it approved by his wife right this second because we have a coach on the string here. But if he wants to do it, it has to be right this second. So he had until Sunday morning at 8 a.m. and it didn’t work out. But it was close.”

Saban had a failed two-year stint as an NFL head coach with the Miami Dolphins, going 15-17 in 2004-2005. Alabama has won four national titles since he took that job in 2007. He also led LSU to a national title in 2003.

It is all water under the bridge at this point, and I’m not even certain that I buy the legitimacy of Arnold’s claim, but it provides an interesting discussion. Would Saban to the Giants have been a good move?