For a couple of weeks, Lane Kiffin was the biggest domino in a wild coaching carousel in college football. Fans would have been hard-pressed to find a more stunning move than Kiffin's decision to bail on Ole Miss to become the next head coach at LSU, but he may have been surpassed on Wednesday.
Michigan made headlines just before bowl season when it fired head coach Sherrone Moore for cause after an investigation discovered that he had an inappropriate relationship with a staff member. Moore was later detained by police in Michigan.
On a football level, that means that one of the bets jobs in the sport is now open very late in the coaching cycle, after nearly every other job has been filled. Michigan is a storied program in one of the two power conferences with loads of money and resources to recruit in the modern era.
Ever since the Moore news dropped, names have been flying around that could potentially be a fit in Ann Arbor. Some of them are more realistic names, such as Washington head coach Jedd Fisch or current Los Angeles Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter, who led the Wolverines' defense to the national championship in 2023.
However, there have also been some more far-fetched names thrown out there by fans, including Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer. There were some loose rumors connecting DeBoer to the open Penn State job before the Nittany Lions hired Iowa State's Matt Campbell, and now he is being mentioned for the Michigan job as well.
Of course, Alabama still has plenty to play for this season as it gets ready for a first-round game against Oklahoma in the College Football Playoff. However, if DeBoer does end up at Michigan, Kiffin could re-enter the coaching cycle for one of the wildest turns in the history of the sport.
DeBoer leaving for Michigan could open the door for Lane Kiffin to Alabama
Lane Kiffin is a lot of things, but loyal to his employers certainly is not one of them. Kiffin has burned plenty of bridges during his time as a coach, both in college and the NFL, and has accumulated a laundry list of messy exits along the way.
None of those are messier than the divorce he just caused at Ole Miss, leaving the Rebels high and dry before a CFP run to go to LSU. LSU is one of the best jobs in the sport, but Kiffin could still be compelled to pull a 180 if the Alabama job came open.
Kiffin's time at Alabama as the offensive coordinator under Nick Saban was well-documented, and it ended just about as poorly as all of his other stops. After taking the head coaching job at Florida Atlantic, Saban was forced to fire Kiffin the week of the national championship game because he was struggling to balance the duties of his two jobs.
Still, Saban and Kiffin have a ton of mutual respect for each other stemming from their time in Tuscaloosa together, and it has long been speculated that Alabama would be his dream job now that Saban has retires.
If that Alabama job does come open, would Kiffin actually bolt LSU to go coach the Tide? It would be a home run hire for Alabama if it were to happen, but it would be a shockingly messy exit at LSU for Kiffin, even by his standards.
Of course, all of this happening is very unlikely. Kiffin is on a massive deal at LSU worth $90 million, and the Tigers have accommodated him in almost every way since he made the decision to come to Baton Rouge.
But Kiffin has always wanted the Alabama job, so much so that he reportedly spent the Saturday after Thanksgiving watching the Iron Bowl just in case Alabama lost to Auburn and the job opened up.
Now, with the Michigan job open, there is the very small chance the job in Tuscaloosa does beome available. If it does, this could be Kiffin's opportunity to take it, no matter who he has to leave in his wake to get there.
