ESPN: How Lane Kiffin, Mike Norvell nearly upended the coaching carousel after Nick Saban's retirement

We now know the ripple effect Nick Saban’s retirement had on college football, but it could’ve been even grander.

The Alabama head coach choosing to ride off into the sunset instead of return for 2024 set a myriad of major plans in motion, changing the course for programs like Washington, Arizona and San Jose State, who never thought they’d have to worry about what went on in Tuscaloosa.

Of course, we know now that Saban’s replacement was none other than former Huskies leader Kalen DeBoer, and then Jedd Fisch went from Arizona to Washington to fill that spot, and then Brent Brennan took his talents to Tucson. However, the ripple effect almost caught Florida State and Ole Miss in it’s web.

Evidently, the Crimson Tide had such advanced conversations with Florida State coach Mike Norvell that the Seminoles began to think about life afterwards, and that would’ve meant making a run at Rebels leader Lane Kiffin, according to Chris Low of ESPN, first reported by Ira Schoffel of Warchant.

“In fact, in the wee hours of that Friday morning, the fear among Florida State officials was that Norvell was close to trading his FSU garnet for Alabama crimson,” Low wrote. “Sources told ESPN that Florida State was poised to move quickly if that happened and that Kiffin would be a prime candidate.”

So while Washington, Arizona and San Jose State are no slouches, Saban’s retirement creating an opening at Florida State, and then in-turn creating an opening at Ole Miss would’ve been a massive shift in college football. Who knows where the Rebels would’ve turned, and if they would’ve poached another big name coach for their opening if Kiffin left.

Nevertheless, it didn’t come to fruition, and Norvell was able to parlay the interest into a new deal, and some upgrades for Florida State’s facilities down the line.

“There were sighs of relief around FSU’s campus when athletic director Michael Alford posted a tweet at 11:51 a.m. Friday that indicated a deal with Norvell was in place,” Low added. “Then at 12:07 p.m., Norvell took to social media to confirm he was staying put.

“Shortly thereafter, news broke that Norvell had agreed to an extension on his contract that would pay him more than $10 million annually over the next eight years. Part of the agreement was a reassurance to Norvell that more money would be committed for his football administrative staff and a larger recruiting budget. A new stand-alone football complex was already under construction, along with upgrades to the stadium.”

In the end, Alabama is happy with Kalen DeBoer, and Florida State and Ole Miss are elated they were able to keep Mike Norvell and Lane Kiffin away from Tuscaloosa. Washington and Arizona might not be so thrilled, but that’s just the way it went down after Nick Saban ended his legendary career. What could’ve been.