The Nick Saban Era at Alabama has reportedly come to close.
After all the championships and awards. After all the unbelievable stats. After years of thinking this day wouldn’t actually arrive, the Hall of Fame coach is reportedly stepping down from his perch atop the Crimson Tide dynasty.
ESPN’s Chris Low first broke the news on Wednesday and the college football world immediately broke into hysterics. Amid all the eulogies and retrospectives, there is still one big question hanging over the sport of college football: Who’s going to replace arguably the best coach of his generation?
Here are seven candidates the Crimson Tide are surely going to check in on as they make that decision.
1
Lane Kiffin
Let’s get the obvious choice out of the way.
We know Kiffin has an affinity for both Nick Saban and Alabama. We know Kiffin was successful as Alabama’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach from 2014-16 and we know Kiffin can recruit just about anyone to his teams.
Combine that with the power and resources of Alabama football and there’s no question this would be an easy fit.
2
Dan Lanning
Oregon’s head coach doesn’t come close to the type of resume as some of the other names on this list, but you can expect he’ll be one of the first calls Alabama makes.
Lanning, 37, is young, energetic and runs high-powered offense that is about as aesthetically pleasing as you’ll find in the sport. In two years as a head coach, he’s led the Ducks to a 22-5 overall record and a Fiesta Bowl win.
Whatever he lacks in experience as a head coach, he more than makes up for with previous stops as linebackers coach at Memphis, defensive coordinator at Georgia and, oh yeah, a previous stint under Saban at Alabama as a grad assistant.
3
Dabo Swinney
For a long time there, Swinney was Saban’s kryptonite. The Clemson head coach defeated the Crimson Tide for the national title in 2016 and 2018 and seemed to rival his vaunted counterpart at Alabama (leading his school to make sure it stayed that way).
Clemson has seen a bit of a drop in production over the last three years, but Swinney has the type of winning resume that’s easy for any fan base to get behind.
Did we mention he’s a Birmingham, Alabama native?
4
Bill O'Brien
Replacing a coaching legend isn’t most people’s idea of a fun time in any sport. Bill O’Brien at least has some experience here.
The longtime NFL and college coach was chosen to guide Penn State through the post-Joe Paterno era (under much more difficult circumstances) and has recent experience at Alabama as the team’s OC from 2021-2022.
5
Kirby Smart
Would Kirby Smart leave a Georgia program he’s built into one of the most dominant in the sport — a three-time national champion and early favorite to win next year — just because he used to work for Saban with the Crimson Tide?
No, probably not. But if you’re Alabama you have to at least make the call.
6
Jimbo Fisher
No one knows the pressures and pitfalls of big-time college football like Jimbo Fisher.
He was able to navigate all the behind-the-scenes politics at Florida State to win a national title in 2013 and hung on at Texas A&M longer than most expected despite being unable to reach the same level of success.
Fisher is also another Saban disciple having worked on his staff at LSU in the early 2000s.
7
Mike Norvell
The 42-year-old head coach doesn’t have many ties to Alabama, but he has proven himself at Memphis and Florida State in a short time.
Norvell is 69-32 overall as a head coach, went undefeated in the regular season with FSU this year and earned numerous Coach of the Year honors along the way.
He knows how to run a big time program and find success quickly.
