Alabama coaching search: How Tide landed on Kalen DeBoer to replace Nick Saban

The latest developments surrounding Alabama's journey to replace arguably the greatest college football coach of all time

Nick Saban's departure from Alabama shocked the college football world Wednesday even though rumors of a Saban retirement persisted throughout the year. Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne found himself charged with replacing arguably the greatest coach in the sport's history, one who captured a record seven national championships -- matching Paul "Bear" Bryant with six at Alabama -- while producing 49 first-round NFL Draft picks, winning 11 SEC championships and changing the way the game is played.

Byrne and the Alabama brass moved quickly, identifying a group of candidates and quickly narrowing that list down to Washington coach Kalen DeBoer. 

DeBoer led the Huskies to a 14-1 record this past season, including a 34-13 loss in the College Football Playoff National Championship to Michigan. He has emerged as one of the best coaches in college football across two seasons at Washington, going 25-3 with a pair of top-10 finishes and a Pac-12 championship. 

In just over 48 hours, Alabama transitioned from college football's most established coach to one most promising young prospects in the profession. CBS Sports was here with you the whole way, documenting every step in the whirlwind process. Read below to see how it unfolded in real time. 

[Jan 12, 2024 at 8:19 pm ET · Chris Dukes]

Alabama makes it official with DeBoer 

The search to replace one of the greatest coaches of all time came to an end Friday night when Alabama announced Kalen DeBoer as its next head coach. DeBoer posted a 25-3 record and led Washington to a national championship game appearance in two seasons with the Huskies. He's developed a reputation as a quarterback mentor, his most recent protégé Michael Penix Jr. finished as the Heisman runner-up in 2023. 

Alabama hires Kalen DeBoer: Washington coach replaces Nick Saban after 25-3 run with Huskies

Chip Patterson

Alabama hires Kalen DeBoer: Washington coach replaces Nick Saban after 25-3 run with Huskies

[Jan 12, 2024 at 2:45 pm ET · Will Backus]

Alabama to hire DeBoer, per reports

Alabama has moved quickly to identify Nick Saban's successor as head football coach. Washington coach Kalen DeBoer, 49, has informed his team that he will be accepting the Crimson Tide job to replace the legendary Saban, who announced his retirement on Wednesday after 17 seasons leading the program, according to multiple reports. 

DeBoer's buyout to leave the Huskies stands at $12 million.

Leading the Huskies to a 14-1 record this past season, including a 34-13 loss in the College Football Playoff National Championship to Michigan, DeBoer has emerged as one of the best coaches in college football across two seasons at Washington, going 25-3 with a pair of top-10 finishes and a Pac-12 championship. 

Alabama hires Kalen DeBoer: Washington coach replaces Nick Saban after 25-3 run with Huskies

Chip Patterson

[Jan 12, 2024 at 12:04 pm ET · David Cobb]

Mike Norvell staying put

Florida State coach Mike Norvell popped up as a name to watch in the Alabama coaching search from the moment Saban retired. On Friday, however, he's all but removed from consideration after reportedly agreeing to a new eight-year deal with the Seminoles that will pay him over $10M per season. According to Yahoo Sports, Alabama had "heavily pursued" Norvell in recent days. 

Mike Norvell contract: Florida State coach agrees to 'enhanced' deal after winning ACC championship

Chip Patterson

[Jan 12, 2024 at 11:09 am ET · Barrett Sallee]

Steve Sarkisian apparently remaining at Texas

It looks like another potential Alabama candidate is staying put. Texas coach Steve Sarkisian is featured in a video released by the school saying that he is staying with the program.

"I came here to win championships," Sarkisian said in the video. "That's the goal. We are here to chase greatness, to win championships. This is the University of Texas, and people are going to want to be a part of it. It sure is great to be on the '40 acres'."

Sarkisian is 25-14 in three seasons with the Longhorns, including a Big 12 title and College Football Playoff appearance in 2023. His Longhorns topped Alabama 34-24 in Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, to kick-start their run to their best season since 2009.

Steve Sarkisian signs contract extension at Texas amid Alabama rumors after College Football Playoff run

David Cobb

[Jan 12, 2024 at 9:51 am ET · Will Backus]

DeBoer postpones radio commitment

Washington coach Kalen DeBoer, who has emerged as one of the top names in Alabama's search, was scheduled to appear on 93.3 KJR, a Seattle-based radio station that focuses on, among other sports, Huskies football. But the station made a post on social media Friday morning announcing that DeBoer's interview has been postponed and the two sides are working on rescheduling. 

"Please understand that Coach DeBoer & UW Athletics are continuing to work towards a future we can all be excited about." the announcement reads. 

Interesting timing, to say the least, given Alabama's reported interest in DeBoer and the expedited timeline that the Crimson Tide seem to be working on in this search. 

[Jan 11, 2024 at 7:36 pm ET · David Cobb]

Names to watch in Alabama coaching search

Two names to monitor in Alabama's quest to replace Nick Saban are Washington coach Kalen DeBoer and Florida State coach Mike Norvell, according to reports from Football Scoop and the Tuscaloosa News. With Oregon coach Dan Lanning indicating his intent to remain with the Ducks, DeBoer and Norvell are obvious candidates, despite the fact that neither have ever worked in the SEC in any capacity. 

Norvell is 23-4 over his last two seasons at FSU and just led the Seminoles to an ACC title. DeBoer is 25-3 in two seasons at Washington after inheriting a 4-8 team and just guided the Huskies to a Pac-12 title and CFP National Championship appearance. Other less splashy names mentioned by Football Scoop include Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz, Alabama offensive coordinator Tommy Rees and Maryland coach Mike Locksley. Drinkwitz just led Mizzou to a breakthrough 11-2 season capped by a Cotton Bowl win, Locksley worked under Saban from 2016-18 and Rees, 31, just wrapped up his first season with the Crimson Tide.

[Jan 11, 2024 at 4:07 pm ET · Will Backus]

Saban cites 'mental grind' for retirement

By retiring now, Nick Saban still goes out on top and leaves after one of the most impressive coaching jobs of his career. Alabama lost by 10 points at home against Texas in the second week of the season and then benched quarterback Jalen Milroe ahead of an uninspiring 17-3 win against South Florida in Week 3, which caused the Crimson Tide to drop out of the AP poll top 10 for the first time since 2015. 

But the season shifted from there. Alabama regained its footing, thanks in large part to a midseason emergence from Milroe -- who had 17 total touchdowns and just two turnovers in the last six games of the year -- and finished the regular season with an unblemished 8-0 showing in SEC play. That earned the Tide a spot in the SEC Championship Game, where they handed top-ranked Georgia its first loss since 2021. 

Read what led to Saban's retirement here: 

Nick Saban cites age, 'mental grind' for retirement from Alabama amid college football's shifting landscape

Will Backus

[Jan 11, 2024 at 12:07 pm ET · Shehan Jeyarajah]

Dan Lanning decides to stay at Oregon

Oregon coach Dan Lanning will remain with the Ducks after emerging as an early candidate to replace Nick Saban at Alabama. A reported top target for the job on Wednesday evening, Lanning was even the focal point of one Oregon news station that falsely reported the coach was in Tuscaloosa; however, 247Sports' Matt Zenitz reports that Lanning was watching a movie with his family when rumors circulated. 

On Thursday, Lanning put all doubt to end with a social media announcement. Watch below: 

Dan Lanning to remain at Oregon, removing name from Alabama coaching search with hype video

Shehan Jeyarajah

[Jan 11, 2024 at 12:00 pm ET · Adam Silverstein]

What happens to Alabama's recruiting class?

The Crimson Tide entered the 2024 offseason having signed the No. 2 class in the nation, according to 247Sports. With two five-star and 19 four-star commitments, Alabama sits only behind Georgia at the top of the rankings. However, with the departure of Nick Saban, signees will have the opportunity to get out of their National Letters of Intent should they choose. Suffice to say, whoever is hired as Saban's replacement will have a huge first task: keeping this class together while re-recruiting players on Alabama's roster. 

[Jan 11, 2024 at 11:45 am ET · Adam Silverstein]

Will coaching buyouts factor into Alabama's search?

The short answer, of course, is no. Especially not at the figures listed below. Given Nick Saban was earning nearly $11 million per season as the highest-paid coach in college football, buyouts are a known quantity when recruiting top-tier coaches and the Crimson Tide have pockets as deep sa any program in the country, money should be a non-factor when Bama ultimately makes its decision.

[Jan 11, 2024 at 11:30 am ET · David Cobb]

Nick Saban's best college football teams, by year

From his first coaching stint at Toledo in 1990 through the end of the 2023 season with Alabama, Nick Saban witnessed seismic change in the sport. Part of what made him great was his ability to adapt. It was a skill he repeatedly put on display at Alabama while cycling through coordinators but always managing to keep the Crimson Tide at or near the top of college football.

Saban's embrace of the sport's changing offensive norms after his first three national titles enabled him to win three more. Alabama's evolution from a defensive-oriented program into one also capable of winning high-scoring battles also makes comparing his teams a challenge. Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder when it comes to comparing squads like the 2020 team with its offensive brilliance to the 2011 team's defensive dominance.

Here is our best shot at ranking the top squads of Saban's collegiate coaching career.

Ranking the best Nick Saban teams from Alabama, LSU as coach retires from college football

David Cobb

[Jan 11, 2024 at 11:15 am ET · Dennis Dodd]

Nick Saban lived up to his own impossible standard

In a guarded moment a few years ago, Nick Saban revealed one of his biggest fears. Can you imagine, he said, if one of his Alabama teams ever went 8-4? For virtually any other coach, that's not terrible. For Saban, it's unacceptable.

That's not the level he established at Alabama. That's Gator Bowl-level stuff.

While that prospect may have scared Saban, it also motivated him -- so much that he got out before anyone could stamp him with any type of expiration date. He got out in time to preserve his legacy as the greatest college coach of all time.

Nick Saban somehow lived up to his own impossible standard leaving Alabama still at the top of his game

Dennis Dodd

[Jan 11, 2024 at 10:56 am ET · Shehan Jeyarajah]

Sarkisian, DeBoer among candidates at Alabama

Perhaps the best job in college football, the Alabama coaching gig presents a fascinating opportunity. Tuscaloosa been home to some of the most successful coaches in the sport's history, but it also presents a pressure cooker for whomever earns the right to replace Nick Saban. In the 15 years between Gene Stallings' lone national championship in 1992 and Saban's arrival in 2007, Alabama had almost as many losing seasons (four) as 10-win seasons (five). 

Replacing a legendary coach is one of the toughest tasks in football. When Paul "Bear" Bryant retired in 1982, New York Giants coach Ray Perkins took over the Crimson Tide program. Two years later, Alabama posted its first losing season in 27 years. When Mack Brown retired at Texas, Charlie Strong went 16-21 over the next three seasons. Now, we get the chance to see whether Saban's successor can live up to the lofty expectations of leading the Alabama football program as arguably the greatest coach to ever do it rides off into the sunset.

Alabama coaching candidates: Kalen DeBoer, Dabo Swinney among options to replace Nick Saban

Shehan Jeyarajah

[Jan 11, 2024 at 10:54 am ET · Cameron Salerno]

Former Alabama players, coaching rivals react

Nick Saban, who guided Alabama to eight College Football Playoff appearances during his time at the school -- the most of any program in the CFP era, was equally loved and respected (the latter even by those who envied what he built with the Crimson Tide). Current college football coaches and his former players at Alabama were quick to weigh in on the end of one of the sport's most decorated careers.

Nick Saban retires: Former Alabama players, coaching rivals react as legendary Tide coach calls it quits

Cameron Salerno

[Jan 11, 2024 at 10:52 am ET · Will Backus]

Saban's immense coaching tree

The "greatest of all time" conversation begins and ends with Nick Saban. The former Alabama coach has done it all in his career, with multiple conference and national championships, and a coaching tree filled with some of the most iconic names in football, both past and present. 

Saban mentored bright future coaching candidates at every level from his own head coaching stops at Toledo (1990), Michigan State (1995-99), LSU (2000-04), Alabama (2007-2023) and even in the NFL with the Miami Dolphins from 2005-06. Fourteen former assistants currently hold FBS head coaching jobs, while one former player is a head coach in the NFL.

Nick Saban coaching tree: Kirby Smart, Lane Kiffin, Jimbo Fisher among many who worked under legend

Will Backus

[Jan 11, 2024 at 10:50 am ET · Chip Patterson]

Nick Saban exits Alabama after 17 seasons

Alabama coach Nick Saban, 72, has decided to retire, ending a run that ranks among the greatest in college football history. The seven-time national championship-winning coach leaves the game having spent his last 17 seasons with the Crimson Tide, the school announced Wednesday.

Saban informed the Tide of his decision in a team meeting Wednesday, where he cited age and health concerns as the reasoning behind calling it quits, according to 247Sports. Alabama was eliminated in the 2023 College Football Playoff semifinal, ending its season with a 27-20 overtime loss to eventual national champion Michigan in the Rose Bowl.

"The University of Alabama has been a very special place to Terry and me," Saban said in a statement. "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."

Nick Saban retires: Seven-time national championship-winning coach, 72, exits Alabama after 17 seasons

Chip Patterson