The unthinkable has happened, and Nick Saban is no longer the head coach of the Alabama football program. While we’ll have plenty of time to reflect on Saban’s tenure and how he is possibly the greatest college football coach of all time, the more immediate concern is who the next head coach of the Crimson Tide will be. If the oddsmakers are right, it will be Washington head coach Kalen DeBoer or Florida State’s Mike Norvell, who currently have the shortest odds to be the next Alabama football coach.

DeBoer is coming off a College Football Playoff national championship game appearance with the Washington Huskies and is currently a -110 favorite to get the job, per BetOnline. The Huskies head coach was second just a few minutes before publication on Jan. 11, 2024, before flipping odds with Norvell who is now at +150.

Behind Kalen DeBoer and Mike Norvell is Texas coach Steve Sarkisian (+200), who was the Alabama football program’s interim offensive coordinator in 2016 and full-time OC in 2019-20. Then there is Oregon’s Dan Lanning, who repeatedly has denied he is leaving the Ducks this offseason, and another former Alabama OC, Ole Miss’ Lane Kiffin, who worked under Nick Saban from 2014-16.

Those are the top candidates who have the best odds of being the next Alabama football coach. Every other name on the list right now has odds of +2500 or higher. That said, there are some intriguing names on the long-shot list including Clemson’s Dabo Swinney, Colorado’s Deion Sanders, and former Ohio State and Florida coach Urban Meyer.