Wednesday was the day we thought would never come. Nick Saban has officially decided to hang up the Alabama football polo and retire.
This leaves Alabama in an uncomfortable situation as the Tide haven't been in the market for a new head coach since 2007 when Saban was hired. All he's done since then is win six national titles and nine SEC titles. His latest came in 2023 when the Tide beat No. 1 Georgia to make the College Football Playoff where they lost an overtime heartbreaker to Michigan.
With that shocking loss, Saban's career officially ended.
Who could replace the greatest head coach college football has ever seen?
3. Kalen DeBoer, Washington HC
In just two seasons at Washington, Kalen DeBoer has proven to be one of the best head coaches in college football and he's only 49. He still has plenty of time left in his coaching career and he's shown that he can lead a major program.
DeBoer immediately turned Washington around in year one, going 11-2 with the Huskies and leading one of college football's top offenses. In year two, the Huskies went 14-1 and made an appearance in the national title game, losing to Michigan by three touchdowns. He didn't quite have the horses to stop Michigan or even keep up and Washington still exceeded expectations.
Heading into the 2024 season, Washington should be one of the better teams in the Big Ten as long as DeBoer is in charge. But Alabama could make a huge move here and lure him to Tuscaloosa.
The only issue here is that he might not be as good of a recruiter as Alabama wants. He could easily change that with better resources.