Alabama Coaching Search: Latest news, notes and intel

Alabama head football coach Nick Saban announced his retirement on Wednesday after 17 dominant seasons of leading the Crimson Tide’s storied program. Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne now turns his attention to replacing the greatest college coach of all-time.

To keep up with everything happening in the wake of the bombshell, BamaOnLine breaks down where things stand in a timeline starting with what we know now to the initial news.

Friday, Jan. 12

6:40 p.m. – Alabama officially announced Kalen DeBoer as its next head football coach.

“We are excited to welcome Kalen and Nicole DeBoer, and their daughters, Alexis and Avery, to The University of Alabama,” Greg Byrne said. “Coach DeBoer has proven he is a winner and has done an incredible job as a head coach at each of his stops. 

“One of the things I told our team the other day is we are going to get someone who is not only a great coach with the Xs and Os, but also someone who cares about his players and someone I’d want my sons to play for, just like I would have wanted them to play for Coach Saban. We got that in Coach DeBoer. He is ready to get to work, and we look forward to him leading the Alabama Crimson Tide football program for years to come.”

5:06 p.m. – Greg Byrne, in similar fashion as the FSU athletic director, posted a photo of white smoke billowing from a chimney, only this was a smokestack at Archibald’s in Northport. The Alabama AD also tweeted, “The plane has left Seattle,” meaning DeBoer is on his way to Tuscaloosa. Alabama has yet to officially announce its new head coach.

2:24 p.m. – Multiple ESPN reporters, as well as other national outlets, have said Alabama and Kalen DeBoer have agreed to a deal. The Crimson Tide has found its next football coach.

1:52 p.m. – ESPN’s Pete Thamel provided some more intel on Alabama’s negotiations with Kalen DeBoer in an appearance on SportsCenter. Thamel said Washington offered a 7-year contract that would have made him one of the top 10-highest paid college coaches, but “as of now, Kalen DeBoer to Alabama is just basically requiring signatures for it to be finalized.”

“Kalen DeBoer has indicated to officials at the University of Washington that he’s likely to take the job at Alabama,” Thamel said. “It is not a done deal, it is not official. He has not resigned. But … this deal is in deep negotiations, and it would be a stark reversal at this point if Kalen DeBoer does not end up as Alabama’s next head coach.”

1:19 p.m. – Washington head coach Kalen DeBoer is the primary target in Alabama’s search to replace Nick Saban, BamaOnLine has learned. As we reported last night, UA athletic director Greg Byrne interviewed DeBoer, and they are in contract negotiations, per sources.

Reaction to significant news in Alabama’s coaching search

11:14 a.m. – Florida State head coach Mike Norvell reportedly received an 8-year contract extension that will pay him more than $10 million, according to Yahoo!’s Ross Dellenger.

10:51 a.m. – Florida State athletic director Michael Alford shared an interesting tweet this morning, one that featured a gif of white smoke billowing out of a chimney. He tagged head coach Mike Norvell and FSU president Richard McCullough. While nothing official has been announced yet, that could signal Norvell, a top candidate for the Alabama job, is staying in Tallahassee. BamaOnLine reported Norvell was likely to interview at some point today.

See what BOL subscribers think of the tweet from FSU

9:12 a.m. – Seeming to confirm what Steve Sarkisian tweeted Thursday night, Texas posted a video on Twitter of Sarkisian and the words “Just getting started” on Friday morning. Sarkisian was a name we mentioned early in the process but appears to be off the board for the UA job. Texas and Sarkisian are reportedly “close” to finalizing a contract extension.

8 a.m. – Washington head coach Kalen DeBoer was scheduled to join 93.3 KJR on Friday morning, but the radio station announced that the interview was postponed. BOL reported on Thursday night that DeBoer likely met with Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne yesterday. The cancellation is noteworthy and one we will continue to monitor today.

Thursday, Jan. 11

10:02 p.m. – BamaOnLine reported that Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne is expected to meet with some of the Tide’s top coaching candidates this weekend. Now-former head coach Nick Saban has been involved in the process, and whoever is hired will most likely try to retain some of the current members of Alabama’s staff, especially those with recruiting ties.

Find out the full details in our premium post on the BOL Round Table

7:03 p.m. – ESPN’s Pete Thamel echoed what many have said throughout the day Thursday – Washington’s Kalen DeBoer and Florida State’s Mike Norvell have emerged as the focal points of Alabama’s search for a new head coach. Thamel reported this on SportsCenter.

“Look for those two to become the center of the search here in the near future,” Thamel said.

6:51 – The NCAA levied significant penalties on Florida State for NIL-related violations on Thursday evening. Offensive coordinator Alex Atkins committed two Level II violations and received a two-year show cause. Other penalties include two years of probation, a three-year disassociation from the booster and a one-year disassociation from the NIL collective. Why mention this? Because of Mike Norvell being mentioned for the Alabama opening. But On3’s Pete Nakos reported that the NCAA is not set to punish the Seminole head coach.

6:26 p.m. – BamaOnLine posted a fresh look at some potential candidates, many of which have been discussed throughout this running timeline. Different from our initial list of six coaches that make sense, Dan Lanning, Lane Kiffin and Dabo Swinney have been removed.

BamaOnLine’s latest list of candidates to watch

4:42 p.m. – ESPN’s Chris Low broke the news that Saban was retiring on Wednesday, and 24 hours later, he joined Ryan Fowler on Tide 100.9 FM to discuss possible replacements for the legendary Alabama coach. Low believes the top two names at the top of the Crimson Tide’s list are currently Kalen DeBoer and Mike Norvell. He also mentioned Steve Sarkisian would be on the list but thinks that is a long shot. Low said he believes Tommy Rees will get an interview and that Alabama will reach out to DeMeco Ryans and Mike Locksley, too.

4 p.m. – FootballScoop is reporting that Byrne plans to name Saban’s replacement by the end of the week. Emerging as “serious contenders” for interviews are Washington’s Kalen DeBoer, Florida State’s Mike Norvell and Alabama offensive coordinator Tommy Rees. Other names that are getting traction include Maryland’s Mike Locksley and Missouri’s Eli Drinkwitz. Locksley obviously has experience at UA having been on the staff from 2016-18.

See what Alabama fans are saying about the latest development

2:44 p.m. – Updated odds to be the next Alabama head coach have been updated to reflect some of what has been posted below. According to BetOnline, Kalen DeBoer is the current favorite at 10/11 odds, followed by Mike Norvell (3/2) and Steve Sarkisian (2/1). Dan Lanning has the fourth-best odds at 7/2, even though he has released a video stating he will stay at Oregon, and Lane Kiffin rounds out the top five at 5/1 odds for the Crimson Tide job.

2:10 p.m. – Saban sat down with ESPN’s Rece Davis and discussed why now was the time for him to retire. That full interview will air on ESPN at 5 p.m. CT, for anyone who wants to check it out. But Saban provided a little more context about why he decided to step away. First off, he said there is no illness for himself or Miss Terry, but he did say the mental grind of the season was harder to sustain. He also said his age was becoming “a little bit of an issue” in regards to hiring coaches and recruiting players with people wanting assurances.

1:35 p.m. – On3’s Florida State site, Warchant.com, had some interesting updates on head coach Mike Norvell this afternoon. It seems the Seminoles are “very concerned” about Norvell being a candidate for the Alabama head coaching vacancy. There is no confirmation of an offer from UA, and this is not a prediction on our part. Just something to monitor.

Discuss the latest development on the BOL Round Table

12:19 p.m. – FOX Sports analyst Joel Klatt said on Wednesday evening that Sarkisian, Lanning and DeBoer were his top three candidates for the Alabama job. We now know that Lanning will stay at Oregon, and Klatt assumed Sarkisian told the Tide no on a return to Tuscaloosa, leaving DeBoer, the head coach at Washington. DeBoer recently hired Jimmy Sexton as his agent, and Sexton was spotted at the Alabama facility on Thursday.

“(Sexton) will try to slow play this as long as Alabama will allow him so that he can get every one of his clients the raise that they feel like they deserve,” Klatt said. “So he’s going to try to play it slow, Alabama’s going to try to go quickly. In my estimation, the most logical candidate in terms of the expediency of the way that want to operate is Kalen DeBoer.

“I’m actually going to be pretty surprised if Kalen DeBoer is not the next coach at Alabama.”

11:22 a.m. – Saban made his first comments since announcing his retirement, speaking to Low in an exclusive interview. The now-former Alabama head coach confirmed BOL’s report that health was a reason for his decision, although he did not cite any specific issues.

“Last season was difficult for me from just a health standpoint, not necessarily having anything major wrong, but just being able to sustain and do things the way I want to do them, the way I’ve always done them,” Saban said. “It just got a little bit harder. So you have to decide, ‘OK, this is sort of inevitable when you get to my age.’”

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11 a.m. – Lanning shared a tweet with no words, just a 1:01 video that ended with, “Ducks aren’t going anywhere, and I’m not leaving.” A candidate or not, Lanning will not be at UA.

10:17 a.m. – BOL learned Lanning was not in Tuscaloosa, despite what was being reported, and the Oregon side expected a statement from its head coach at some point Thursday.

7:24 a.m. – Less than 24 hours after announcing his retirement, Saban arrived at the Mal M. Moore Athletic Facility on Thursday morning, just like he has for the last 17 years. Later in the afternoon, SEC Network analyst Cole Cubelic tweeted that Saban was calling recruits.

12:08 a.m. – Reports surfaced that Lanning was in Tuscaloosa to interview for the vacancy, but we did not receive confirmation of a visit. Opinions shared with BOL varied on Lanning. “Some feel that if Lanning is the guy UA wants, then him going to Alabama is doable. While some feel that the total price for him leaving Oregon would be too much.” 

Lanning’s buyout at Oregon is $20 million. 

Late night Lanning talk with BOL publisher Tim Watts

Wednesday, Jan. 10

10:42 p.m. – BamaOnLine publisher Tim Watts shared his initial thoughts on Saban’s retirement and what’s next for Alabama on the BOL Round Table. Watts echoed what Thamel reported – that Sarkisian and Kiffin were unlikely. The same can be said for Georgia’s Kirby Smart. Watts also mentioned Lanning and Norvell, though nothing concrete was known yet. 

The expectation is a new coach will be announced in 72 hours after Saban stepping away.

Don’t miss Watts’ initial thoughts on Saban, the search and the team

7:44 p.m. – ESPN senior writer Pete Thamel shared his list of top candidates for the job, which included Dan Lanning, Kalen DeBoer, Dabo Swinney, James Franklin, Mike Norvell and Marcus Freeman. “No order there,” Thamel said during a podcast with Rece Davis.

Thamel left off two big names in Steve Sarkisian and Lane Kiffin and explained why.

Sarkisian: “I just don’t think Steve Sarkisian would leave Texas, so that’s why I did not put him on the list.”

Kiffin: “I have a hard time seeing Greg Byrne hiring Lane Kiffin, considering Lane Kiffin was fired from Alabama before before he left, and Greg Byrne is a very buttoned-up man and that would be a little bit of oil and water.

“So those are two names that have been thrown out that I did not use and those were the reasons why. Not saying they’re impossible, that’s just my intuition and assumption.”

6:55 p.m. – Byrne issued a separate statement on the search for a new head football coach.

Byrne: “As with any coaching search, our goal is to be thorough, but expedient. Our ideal candidate will be strong in recruiting and relationship building, player development, excel in Xs and Os and have the overall ability to lead this historic program. There will be plenty of rumors out there during this process. Next time I talk publicly will be to announce our new coach. If you don’t hear it from me, don’t believe it. Roll Tide!”

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6:39 p.m. – Alabama made the news official by releasing a statement from Saban, Byrne and University of Alabama president Stuart Bell a couple of hours after the initial news broke.

Saban: “The University of Alabama has been a very special place to Terry and me. We have enjoyed every minute of our 17 years being the head coach at Alabama as well as becoming a part of the Tuscaloosa community. It is not just about how many games we won and lost, but it’s about the legacy and how we went about it. We always tried to do it the right way. The goal was always to help players create more value for their future, be the best player they could be and be more successful in life because they were part of the program. Hopefully, we have done that, and we will always consider Alabama our home.” 

4:31 p.m. – As On3’s Pete Nakos pointed out, the news of Saban’s retirement meant the NCAA transfer portal will now reopen for 30 days. Alabama saw 17 of its players enter the portal in the winter window, which was open from Dec. 6-Jan. 6. The message from Byrne and company was for players to wait for a coach to be hired before jumping in the portal.

4:06 p.m. – ESPN senior writer Chris Low broke the news that Saban was retiring. BamaOnLine learned Saban informed the team at what was believed to be a routine meeting at 4 p.m. He cited his age and health concerns as reasons why he was calling it a career. Coaches and players did not expect that kind of announcement on the first day of classes.

Join the BOL Round Table for what we heard regarding Saban’s decision

*** This story will be updated.

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