Current:Home > MyWho should Alabama hire to replace Nick Saban? Start with Kalen DeBoer of Washington -Wealth Impact Academy
Who should Alabama hire to replace Nick Saban? Start with Kalen DeBoer of Washington
View
Date:2025-04-19 15:47:38
Would Alabama a wunderkind to replace a legend?
If Google Trends data offer any fair indication, Alabama fans are interested in the possibility. Internet searches for Oregon's Dan Lanning soared in Alabama after breaking news Wednesday that Nick Saban is retiring.
I'm more interested in the veteran coach who always beats the wunderkind. That's Washington's Kalen DeBoer.
Lanning, 37, oozes nouveau riche cachet. Lanning’s affinity for analytics – fourth-and-4? Go for it! – captivate our attention. His handsome looks made him a fit for ESPN’s halftime set during Monday’s national championship game.
I’d rather have the guy coaching in the game.
You know, the Huskies coach who is 3-0 against Lanning.
Lanning cut his teeth as a graduate assistant for Saban and later as Kirby Smart’s defensive coordinator. He might crush it at Alabama.
Kalen DeBoer, 49, is a career winner. He’s crushed it everywhere he’s been, from NAIA Sioux Falls to Fresno State to Washington. Coaching hires offer no guarantees, but I’d put faith in DeBoer, who has 12 losses in nine seasons coaching at various levels. He inherited a Washington program that went 4-8 in 2021. The Huskies won 25 games the past two seasons.
Alabama's expectations are especially high, and Saban's heir will face unrelenting pressure. Following Saban would be like a comedian taking the stage after George Carlin warmed up the crowd. Good luck matching the laughs. And good luck replicating Saban’s success – or even coming close – especially as college football shows signs of inching toward more parity, at least within the two super-conferences.
In 2022, I asked Mississippi coach Lane Kiffin about the hypothetical idea of replacing Saban. Here’s how Kiffin described that task:
“Following Saban would be the dumbest follow ever,” Kiffin told me then. “What could you possibly do right if you don’t win the national championship every year? … No, that would not be a good decision for anyone.”
Ironically, I think Kiffin would relish the opportunity, but I’m trying to imagine what Tide fans would do the first time his team failed to convert a fourth down from its 37-yard line. They might beat him silly with all those pompoms. And, how would Kiffin’s loose-cannon social media persona play on the heels of Saban’s buttoned-up approach? Yeah, I don’t see that happening.
Lanning, too, is an analytics aficionado with a tolerance for daring fourth downs. Again, I’m envisioning crimson-faced fans armed with pompoms.
Lanning boasts 22 wins after two seasons at Oregon. Impressive. His best win this season came against Liberty, though.
Less than two weeks ago, DeBoer’s Huskies beat Texas, an opponent Saban’s Tide failed to conquer in September.
In an interview with The Athletic, former coach Chris Petersen described DeBoer as “strong in his convictions,” “calm” and “poised.” Those are qualities Alabama should seek from whoever comes next.
A victim of the moment might say, didn’t Washington just get thumped by Michigan? It’s a testament to DeBoer’s coaching ability that the Huskies were even on that stage.
Before the season, 247Sports’ talent composite analysis ranked Washington at No. 27. That’s one spot behind Missouri. Four spots behind South Carolina. Sixteen spots behind Oregon. Twenty-five spots behind Alabama.
And the Huskies defeated every opponent they faced, other than the undefeated national champions. Safe to say DeBoer would have more talent at Alabama, and his pro-style offense should resonate with Alabama supporters. DeBoer developed Michael Penix Jr., a mediocre quarterback at Indiana, into a Heisman Trophy runner-up at Washington.
If not DeBoer, then Florida State’s Mike Norvell and Texas’ Steve Sarkisian would interest me. Sarkisian has it good at Texas, though, and he didn't have to replace a legend.
Like Kiffin, Sarkisian once was Saban’s offensive coordinator. Like Lanning, Sarkisian is winless against DeBoer. Washington beat Texas in postseason games each of the past two seasons.
Alabama fans wouldn’t be as familiar with DeBoer, a South Dakota native, as they would with those other coaches I mentioned. DeBoer has spent most of his life north of the Mason-Dixon Line. He’s never coached in the SEC. Neither had Saban, before LSU hired him to awaken that program out of its doldrums.
The folks out West respect DeBoer.
The Seattle Times published a frantic column in November pleading for Washington to “pay the man.” DeBoer made $4.2 million this season. Folks in the SEC call that peanuts. Surely, Washington will give him a raise, if he sticks around. The Seattle Times listed DeBoer among its handful of suggested candidates to be the next Seattle Seahawks coach.
A rival coach, Washington State's Jake Dickert, probably would help DeBoer pack his bags for the SEC. Dickert recently told The Athletic that he’s “blown away” by DeBoer’s success record, adding that DeBoer has "the respect of the whole coaching world.”
How much does that respect resonate across the country, with Alabama's decision-makers?
DeBoer's got my respect, anyway.
Alabama will hire a new coach, but it can’t hire another Saban. No one can truly replace the GOAT. The best it can do is hire a confident, level-headed, experienced coach who wins all the time.
DeBoer fits that description.
Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network's SEC Columnist. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @btoppmeyer.
veryGood! (5838)
Related
- John Galliano out at Maison Margiela, capping year of fashion designer musical chairs
- Donald Glover, Caleb McLaughlin play 21 Savage in 'American Dream' biopic trailer
- Poland’s new government is in a standoff with the former ruling party over 2 convicted politicians
- Ray Epps, a target of Jan. 6 conspiracy theories, gets a year of probation for his Capitol riot role
- Why we love Bear Pond Books, a ski town bookstore with a French bulldog 'Staff Pup'
- When will the IRS accept 2024 returns? Here's when you can start filing your taxes.
- A man who claimed to be selling Queen Elizabeth II’s walking stick is sentenced for fraud
- Former CNN host Don Lemon returns with 'The Don Lemon Show,' new media company
- Federal hiring is about to get the Trump treatment
- Third Eye Blind reveals dates and cities for Summer Gods 2024 tour
Ranking
- Pressure on a veteran and senator shows what’s next for those who oppose Trump
- NFL owners, time to wake up after big seasons from several head coaches of color
- Former President Clinton, House members mourn former Texas Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson at funeral
- Shohei Ohtani’s Dodgers deal prompts California controller to ask Congress to cap deferred payments
- House passes bill to add 66 new federal judgeships, but prospects murky after Biden veto threat
- TV is back! Here are the best shows in winter 2024 from 'True Detective' to 'Shogun'
- Bonuses for college football coaches soar to new heights; Harbaugh sets record with haul
- Death toll from western Japan earthquakes rises to 126
Recommendation
The Super Bowl could end in a 'three
US Rep. Greg Pence of Indiana, former VP Mike Pence’s older brother, won’t seek reelection
Intensified Russian airstrikes are stretching Ukraine’s air defense resources, officials say
Princess Kate turns 42: King Charles celebrates her birthday with rare photo
A White House order claims to end 'censorship.' What does that mean?
Hezbollah fires rockets at Israel in response to killing of top Hamas leader
Driver crashes into White House exterior gate, Secret Service says
'Sex with a Brain Injury' reveals how concussions can test relationships