Four Nick Saban Replacements at Alabama

Nick Saban is retiring as the head coach at Alabama. The 72-year-old will step down as arguably the greatest college football coach of all-time. His run of six national championships during his time in Tuscaloosa may never be matched. Now the school must shift its attention to the near-impossible task of replacing a legend. It is likely to have its pick of top candidates. Here’s a look at four coaches who could fit the bill.

Lanning has SEC bonafides from his four seasons under Kirby Smart at Georgia, three of those came as the defensive coordinator. He’s 22-5 in two seasons as Oregon’s head coach and led the Ducks to a Fiesta Bowl win this year. He’s young (36), energetic, is recruiting like crazy and has the defense-first ethos that has worked so well for Saban at Alabama.

DeBoer’s star has risen incredibly quickly over the past two seasons with Washington. He turned Fresno State around in two seasons, getting the Bulldogs to 9-3 in 2021 and has gone 25-3 at Washington, including 14-1 this season with a berth in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game. While the Huskies lost to Michigan in the title game, it’s clear DeBoer knows how to create a great team.

Kiffin has grown up a lot since he was pushed out as Alabama’s offensive coordinator in early 2017. He coached under Saban during a national championship run in 2015. He took the head job at FAU in 2017 and went 26-13 in three seasons — he was 11-3 in 2017 and 10-3 in 2019. Ole Miss hired him after and the Rebels have been excellent with Kiffin in charge. They’ve gone 34-15 since his arrival, including 20-13. In 2023 they went 11-2 and won the Peach Bowl, topping Penn State 38-25.

Swinney is an Alabama alum whose tenure might have run its course at Clemson. He’s been wildly successful in his 16 seasons with the Tigers. Under his watch, Clemson has won eight ACC titles, 10 Atlantic Division titles and two national championships. He’s gone 170-43 since taking over as the interim head coach in 2008. The Tigers went 9-4 during a transition year in 2023 and people were calling for Swinney’s head. Maybe it’s time for him to go back home.