Penn State writer assesses chances Alabama's Kalen DeBoer poached by Nittany Lions

According to Jon Sauber of The Centre Daily Times, Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer is a leading candidate for the open Penn State job. DeBoer is in his second season with the Crimson Tide after taking over for legendary head coach Nick Saban. Now, he is reportedly drawing interest to replace James Franklin in State College.

“He’s been one of Penn State’s top targets from the beginning,” Sauber said via Tide 100.9. “I think it was, early on, a little bit pie in the sky, of course, Alabama’s close game with South Carolina, there was a chance it could have picked up there. It didn’t, and then the loss to Oklahoma nudged the door open a little bit.

“I still think Alabama would have to miss the Playoffs to make this a real possibility, which, obviously, would include a loss to Auburn to end the year. And I’m sure the reaction down there wouldn’t be great. He’s been the top target since early on; I know they have a lot of respect for him and what he’s done in his career, and he’s someone that they think would be an excellent coach here at Penn State.”

Alabama has two games remaining on its 2025 schedule, beginning with Eastern Illinois on Saturday afternoon in Bryant-Denny Stadium. As Sauber mentioned, the year then ends on the Plains against Auburn. Where DeBoer’s team goes from there depends on the results.

Winning the Iron Bowl most likely puts Alabama in the SEC Championship. Tiebreakers could go against them but a good chunk of scenarios favor the Crimson Tide. Possible opponents include a rematch against Georgia or facing Texas A&M for the first time this season.

Then there is the College Football Playoff discussion. After the Oklahoma loss, Alabama fell from No. 4 in the rankings, all the way down to No. 10. If the 12-team field were set today, they would be the final at-large team.

Making the CFP would be a huge stride for DeBoer after missing out in his first season. He might want to find a way to run the ball with a little more efficiency, though — that’s at least what the committee believes when comparing Alabama to No. 9 Notre Dame.

“You go back and look at Alabama’s game against South Carolina where they score two touchdowns late to win that game and then, the next game against LSU, where they won both of those but didn’t rush the ball for 100 yards,” College Football Playoff committee chair and Arkansas athletic director Hunter Yurachek said.

“And again, against Oklahoma, was not able to run the ball on the ground. So you think you look at the games that Alabama has struggled in, starting the season against Florida State where they struggled to [run] the ball. They’re two really good 8-2 teams. But you look at the losses of Notre Dame vs. the losses of Alabama, and that was really one of the defining metrics that we used.”