It's been less than 24 hours since Nick Saban shockingly retired from Alabama football on Thursday, and the focus has turned to who the university will select to succeed him.

Oregon's Dan Lanning, who was a graduate assistant with Alabama football under Saban, was mentioned as a possibility.

There were reports that surfaced about Lanning being in Tuscaloosa on Wednesday. They were not true. There is a connection between Lanning and Alabama though, which is definitely part of the reason he's been linked to the Tide. Lanning worked as a graduate assistant under Saban back in 2015 before moving to Georgia where he served as the defensive coordinator for three years.

Lanning later announced that he is staying at Oregon.

According to Pete Thamel, the expectation is for Washington football coach Kalen DeBoer and Florida State football coach Mike Norvell to emerge as focal points of the search:

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DeBoer is coming off a College Football Playoff national championship game appearance with the Washington Huskies, where they fell short to Michigan. That type of success has to be attractive to Alabama football.

Norvell, meanwhile, is one of the few coaches around the country that's built for the modern era in college football. He continues to produce top transfer classes each season and has shown that he can use the portal successfully. Florida State has been acquiring instant impact transfers, choosing veteran production over potential, and it's proven to be successful.

Norvell has also worked his way around NIL incentives, strategically distributing his resources through the portal and high school recruiting. His relationship with the administrative staff and boosters will stand out to Alabama football.