TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Alabama athletic director Mal Moore can look back on his conversations with Nick Saban and feel good about keeping the three-time national championship-winning coach with the Crimson Tide even as rumored NFL opportunities arise.

Moore knows how Saban views the pro game and doesn't believe it's a place he'll return without a drastic change of heart.

"He's expressed to me on several occasions ... that he's happy here," Moore said. "He feels very comfortable, and I believe him."

Moore once was in a similar circumstance, jumping from the college ranks to become an NFL assistant with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1986. The three years he spent with the franchise were some of the loneliest of his life.

"For years, when I was with the Cardinals, they'd ask me what it was like," Moore said. "I'd say it was a little bit different. When I'd go to work, I'd never see anybody. Nobody ever comes to see me. Nobody ever calls. I'd have to think up somebody to call. ... I used to tell people, nobody in St. Louis or Phoenix, nobody would ever come by to see us. You know why? Because nobody gives a damn.