ALABAMA_FOOTBALL_WEEK_11_MONDAY_PRACTICE_18433949.JPG

Nick Saban coaches at Monday's practice in Tuscaloosa.

(Vasha Hunt/vhunt@al.com)

TUSCALOOSA, Alabama — Nearly a day of discussion surrounded the latest reports linking Alabama coach Nick Saban to the Texas coaching job.

By Wednesday afternoon, Saban responded.

Speaking with ESPN's Tom Rinaldi, the topic of discussions between Jimmy Sexton, Saban's agent, and Texas officials came up.

"Well I don't know where these reports come from," Saban said with a smile. "I've sort of addressed the situation before. I'm totally committed to the University of Alabama, looking forward to the game we have this week and all my focus has been on LSU and what our team needs to do to play their best."

that Sexton reportedly told former Texas Regent

Tom Hicks

and current Regent

Wallace Hall

that Texas was the only school Saban would leave Alabama for and that Saban was undergoing "special pressure" at Alabama. The January conversation, obtained by the AP through an open-records request, was recounted in a Sept. 24 e-mail by Hicks.

Saban has directly and indirectly addressed the Texas rumors twice in the last two months. He provided similar answers on both occasions, expressing his happiness with his situation at Alabama and saying he's

to start over some place else.

Texas hired a new athletics director Tuesday, as

Steve Patterson

left Arizona State to replace the retiring

DeLoss Dodds

. Texas coach

Mack Brown

has given no indication that he plans to retire after the season and the Longhorns, after losing two games early in the season, have won five straight.