Nick Saban retires at Alabama, who will target Dan Lanning at Oregon

There are no implications for Cal...yet.

Photo by Alex Mertz on Unsplash

Shockwaves are emanating from Tuscaloosa that could spread throughout the college football space, and might ripple out to the California Golden Bears.

Nick Saban will step down at Alabama, leaving one of the top jobs in college football open. Saban is undisputedly on the shortlist of the greatest college football coach of all-time, winning seven national championships, one with LSU, and six in 17 seasons in Alabama.

There are reports from Brett McMurphy that Alabama will go after Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning. Pete Thamel also offered this list of names.

With no likely internal replacements at Alabama, here’s a quick projected target list. Dan Lanning, Kalen DeBoer, Dabo Swinney, James Franklin, Mike Norvell and Marcus Freeman. All come with complications and big buyouts, as it’s difficult to move entrenched coaches.

Obviously, Cal fans know what happened the last time the Oregon job opened up. When Mario Cristobal left the Ducks, they reached out to Justin Wilcox, who played football at Oregon. Wilcox reportedly turned down Oregon and inked a contract extension to stay with the Golden Bears. The Ducks would proceed to hire Lanning, who has led them to a Holiday and Fiesta Bowl, coming a touchdown or two short of the playoff.

Nothing is certain. Perhaps Lanning says no.

Still, we’re a step or two away from Cal fans taking another ride on the coaching carousel.

Discuss Saban, Lanning, Wilcox, and other Cal things here!