"I guess I have to say it," Saban said. "I'm not going to be the Alabama coach."

When the stories linking Alabama and Saban began circulating last month, almost immediately after Shula got fired following a 6-6 season, the former coach at Louisiana State said he was flattered but not interested.

He's bristled at nearly every suggestion about him leaving the Dolphins since.

"I don't know how many times I've got to respond to rumor and innuendo," Saban said. "I have no control over that. I've stated what my intentions are and they really haven't changed, so I don't know what the issue is. And I don't know why people keep asking about it. What they talk about over there is their business. But what's happening here is my business and our business, and that's what we're focused on."

Saban acknowledged this month that Alabama approached his agent about its coaching job, but he declined an invitation to talk to the Crimson Tide.