College football: 5 head coaches who could be the next Nick Saban

3. Kalen DeBoer, Alabama

Kalen DeBoer was already considered the Nick Saban of his sport at a different level. Before he coached at Washington or even Fresno State and before he was an assistant coach in the FBS ranks, DeBoer was busy dominating the NAIA level. As the head coach for Sioux Falls between 2005-09, DeBoer went 67-3 with three NAIA titles and just one conference loss. Incredible stuff.

And then he was hired to be an assistant in the FBS before working his way up to the Fresno State job in 2020 where he went 3-3 in a COVID-19-shortened year. The next year, he led the Bulldogs to a 9-3 record before getting poached by Washington.

All he did at Washington was win, going 25-3 in two years, including an appearance in the national title game this past season, losing to Michigan.

Alabama wasted no time hiring him to replace Nick Saban so this choice for him to be on this list was an easy one. A candidate to be the next Saban has to be the guy who was hired to replace him, right?

DeBoer is 49 years old so he probably has a couple of decades of coaching left in him and he's constructing a solid roster down in Tuscaloosa despite the program losing key players left and right after Saban's sudden retirement. I fully expect the Tide to be a top-10 team in year one of DeBoer and my only worry for him is recruiting.

I believe he can continue the winning traditions at Alabama and even win some national titles while he's there. He can be one of the top coaches in the sport and potentially the next Saban-like winner.