Sad News: Controversies Looms As 5 Prospective Replacements Have Emerged Over The Exit of Nick Saban Due To…

According to numerous reliable rumours, Alabama Football Head Coach Nick Saban is planning to retire, shocking the sports world.

In the annals of collegiate athletics, it is rare for a programme at the pinnacle of success to lose a key member of the coaching team. That is the situation at Alabama, where it is quite improbable that any of the current employees will be hired.

This implies that one of the highest-stakes coaching searches in history is about to begin. Given Alabama’s resources, facilities, history, and support, almost any other university would be terrified to engage in a bidding war with them. If not the greatest college coaching position in the nation, it’s certainly in the running, trailing only Georgia in second place.

Many well-known names may come up throughout this search, but these are the five that I believe have the best chance of getting the position and occupying some of the most significant roles in American sports history. There is no set order in which the coaches are listed.

Dan Lanning, Oregon Ducks Head Coach

Oregon Head Coach Dan Lanning is going to be named a lot in this coaching search, as he’s considered one of the best young coaches in America. Many view him as they viewed Kirby Smart, his mentor, when Smart was Saban’s defensive coordinator at Alabama as the next superstar SEC coach. He’s not in the SEC anymore, as he left his job as Georgia’ defensive coordinator under Kirby Smart for the Oregon job after the 2021 season.

Since, he’s had two close misses in terms of making the College Football Playoff, but he has returned Oregon to college football’s elite. Lanning is 22-5 in two years at Oregon, and has been recruiting at an incredibly high level. He would be an outstanding fit in Tuscaloosa, where he spent a year as a GA in 2015.

DeMeco Ryans,  Houston Texans Head Coach

Because of the transfer portal and NIL, which make every player on the roster an unrestricted free agent, DeMeco Ryans might be doing just fine as a head coach in Houston with a strong young core. But you have to force him to say no.

Nonetheless, Alabama must make this decision. Prior to Saban’s hiring, Ryans was a standout player for the Crimson Tide. He went on to have an amazing NFL career, which would no doubt appeal to a lot of young men in the South. He’s also shown himself to be a superb instructor. He was hired as the head coach of the Houston Texans, replacing defensive coordinator Scott San Francisco, and he did one of the best coaching jobs in team history, winning ten games and the AFC South championship. We all know the 39-year-old could coach, and I have no doubt that he would be an amazing recruiter.

Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss Head Coach

Ole Miss appears to be in the midst of its greatest run in programme history under Lane Kiffin’s leadership. In the last three years, the Rebels have won 29 games in the fierce SEC West. Additionally, he has demonstrated the capacity to attract exceptional talent to an area where it is difficult to find talent. After an 11-2 year, Kiffin has a legendary transfer portal class lined up, and Ole Miss should definitely qualify for the College Football Playoffs the following season.

However, you wouldn’t be employing Kiffin because of his capacity to attract talent. Kiffin is genuinely an Einstein-caliber play caller and one of the best offensive brains in football. The GOAT hired Lane Kiffin after Nick Saban realised he needed to update the Alabama offence, and that move launched the Crimson Tide dynasty into a second act. After two excellent head coaching stints, at Tennessee, USC, and the Raiders, Kiffin appears to have overcome some of the immaturity issues that plagued him in his early 30s. Anticipate that he will be contacted for a job interview and may be hired.

Mike Norvell, Florida State Head Coach

After Florida State’s disappointing recruiting cycle and expulsion from the College Football Playoff, if Mike Norvell gets hired by Alabama, things will only get worse. However, he is a top-tier applicant who possesses all the necessary skills to succeed there.

Although Norvell has coached extensively in the south, he has never held a position in the SEC. He was able to turn around a struggling Memphis programme, as seen by his 38-15 record, which included a 12-1 season. Norvell took over a struggling programme at Florida State after relocating there and successfully oversaw a significant turnaround. The Seminoles, who had two poor seasons to begin with, have finished 23-4 in the last two years. In 2023, they started 13-0 before Georgia destroyed them in the Orange Bowl, where almost the whole Florida State starting lineup did not play. Along with being a good offensive mind, he has demonstrated skill as a programme CEO and can recruit exceptionally effectively. Additionally, Florida State is in a difficult ACC scenario, so he might

Steve Sarkisian, Texas Head Coach

Steve Sarkisian’s candidature is comparable to Lane Kiffin’s in certain aspects. Both have successfully navigated through their initial challenges as head coaches, having led Alabama’s Crimson Tide offence in 2019 and 2020. Sarkisian has finally brought Texas back since taking over, as evidenced by the team’s 12-2 record this season, its victory over Alabama, and its College Football Playoff appearance.

Sarkisian is without a doubt a highly skilled recruiter and coach. The quarterback guru helped Quinn Ewers become one of the top quarterbacks in the country by unceremoniously snagging Arch Manning away from the SEC. In the trenches, Texas has completely rebuilt itself, and he is recruiting at a very high level.

Would Sarkisian consider quitting one of the few programmes in the country that could provide him with the kind of resources Alabama can? What more could a coach want for, with Texas heading to the SEC?