On Wednesday, Nick Saban made the shocking and heartbreaking decision to retire from Alabama football and begin a new chapter in his life. Saban cited family reasons and health concerns.
Saban will likely end up being on TV and will be incredibly successful no matter what he does. That doesn’t take away the pain of losing him as head coach. At 72 years old, it is hard to put in 14-hour days, especially with how much the game has changed from name, image, likeness and the transfer portal.
Alabama fans wish Saban the absolute best in retirement, but Crimson Tide football will go on. The prevailing question is who will be the heir to the throne?
I find it hard to believe Saban would up and retire without a plan in place for the university, but it’s difficult to know what happened behind the scenes. Oregon’s Dan Lanning and Ole Miss’s Lane Kiffin have been the two hottest names to this point. Our staff at Roll Tide Wire weighs in on the coaching vacancy:
AJ Spurr: Dabo Swinney
I think it’ll be Dabo Swinney. He is an Alabama native and a former Crimson Tide player who has had success at the highest level of coaching. Despite the last two years being somewhat disappointing, he’s a strong coach that knows what it takes to recruit and lead a program. He’s not my personal pick, but I think he’s viewed as the safest option in the eyes of decision makers.
Stacey Blackwood: Dan Lanning
Lanning is an elite recruiter who has done a masterful job of utilizing name, image and likeness tools and the transfer portal to build his program. Lanning also has experience in the Southeast having coached at both Alabama and Georgia. A disciple of Saban and Smart, Lanning is the most logical option to replace the GOAT.
UPDATE: Stacey’s pick of Dan Lanning is moot; he has openly stated he will stay at Oregon.
Brody Smoot: Kalen DeBoer
DeBoer has proven he can win with ample talent. He has amassed a 104-12 coaching record during his time at Fresno State and Washington. DeBoer has adapted well to the college football landscape. Some of the teams top players this past season were transfers — Dillon Johnson (MSST), Ja’Lynn Polk (Texas Tech), and Michael Penix Jr. (Indiana). He understands what it takes to win and is willing to do whatever it takes to succeed. That is eerily similar to the standard that has been set at Alabama. It makes sense Alabama would hire DeBoer to be Nick Saban’s successor.
Sam Murphy: Lane Kiffin
As crazy as it seems, Lane Kiffin has done everything in his power to put himself to be Saban’s successor. People forget that Kiffin took over the Oakland Raiders job at 32 years old. He coached at USC and is no stranger to Tuscaloosa. Kiffin still might lack the pedigree for the job, but getting Ole Miss to its first 11-win season is massive. If he is offered the job, he would take it in a heartbeat.
Final Prediction: Kalen DeBoer
If you would have asked me late last night the answer would have definitively been Dan Lanning, but it begins to sounds like that may have been smoke and mirrors. Alabama is an upgrade from the Washington job, and with Nick Saban’s aide and UA’s resources DeBoer will have as smooth of a transition as you could possibly have. If it’s not DeBoer, its Kiffin I would imagine though.
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