Alabama head coach search: Massive odds swing for new coach after Nick Saban retirement
The biggest storyline of the 2024 offseason will be the coaching turnover in Tuscaloosa following the retirement of Alabama head coach Nick Saban.
From the moment he announced his retirement, several of the most high-profile head coaches in the country have been rumored to be a candidate for the vacant position.
Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne released a statement on Wednesday that the next time the public would hear from him, it would be when he was introducing his football program’s new head coach. But which names should we be taking seriously?
Here are the coaches with the best odds in Vegas, according to Sportsbetting.ag:
NOTE: This story was published at 10:10 p.m. ET on Thursday, and the following odds were listed at that time.
Kalen DeBoer, -200
Kalen DeBoer has been a winner everywhere he’s gone — and that trend could surely continue at Alabama. The odds-on favorite to be named Nick Saban’s successor, DeBoer would have massive shoes to fill.
Fresh off a run to the College Football Playoff National Championship game, DeBoer has officially solidified himself as one of the top coaching minds in power five football.
If the hire ends up happening, the 2023-24 season would have served as a perfect tuning session for what he’d be capable of leading a program like Alabama. With those types of resources, the sky is the limit for DeBoer is Tuscaloosa.
Dabo Swinney, +100
The most polarizing name on this list, Alabama fans have not been soon to forget Dabo Swinney and Clemson defeating the Crimson Tide in two separate College Football Playoff National Championship games between the mid and late 2010s.
Fans had been seen chatting ‘Anyone but Dabo’ around campus in the hours following Saban’s shocking retirement. If those fans were being honest with themselves, however, they would realize that Swinney has the best resume of any current college football coach on this list.
Steve Sarkisian, +400
Steve Sarkisian will go down in college football history as the last head coach to beat Nick Saban in Bryant-Denny Stadium.
While he was the ultimate heel in Tuscaloosa back in September, there’s a good chance the Texas head coach would be welcomed back to the place he spent two years as offensive coordinator with open arms.
Fresh off a run to the College Football Playoff and bringing Texas back for real — he has the credentials needed to take over the throne of Saban’s empire.
Lane Kiffin, +500
Another year, another head coaching vacancy, and another rumor that Lane Kiffin is going to take it.
This time is different, though. If Kiffin were to skip town in the middle of the night for Tuscaloosa — would anyone blame him? Of course, Alabama has been a thorn in the side of Kiffin’s Ole Miss Rebels in the SEC West, and to jump sides after the most successful single season in school history wouldn’t be surprising given his history.
Mike Norvell, +1000
Leading Florida State to an undefeated 13-0 season capped with an ACC Championship win and an Orange Bowl berth.
If Norvell’s star quarterback, Jordan Travis, had not suffered a season-ending injury late in the season, who knows how Florida State could have ended the 2023-24 season? Still, Norvell has turned Florida State into a national powerhouse and is one of the best candidates AD Brynes could choose from.
While he lacks the championship pedigree, his reputation as a program builder and one heck of a recruiter will bode well in Tuscaloosa if he was given the job.
After Norvell, the list is as follows:
Dan Lanning, +2000
Pat Shurmur, +3300
Marcus Freeman, +4000
Glenn Schumann, +4000
DeMeco Ryans, +5000
Bill O’Brein, +50000
Kirby Smart, +5000
Deion Sanders, +6600
Urban Meyer, +6600
Mike Shula, +6600
Dan Quinn, +6600
Tommy Rees, +6600
Brian Daboll, +6600
Mike Vrabel, +7500
Derek Dooley, +8000
Pete Carroll, +8000
Read the rest of the list here.