With the departure of the greatest college football coach of all time, there are big shoes to fill in Tuscaloosa. The Alabama Crimson Tide are now in the hunt for their newest head coach and they're sure to take their time in making the right decision. Alabama football has served its right to be picky in this situation, advertising the best job college football has to offer. Texas football head coach Steve Sarkisian is on the short list of names that will be a candidate to fill the vacancy, per Bruce Feldman at The Athletic.

Sarkisian spent time with Nick Saban in Tuscaloosa, having been a part of his coaching tree as a former Alabama offensive coordinator. He was the OC from 2019 to 2020 just before moving to Austin for the Longhorns, and also spent time there in 2016 as an interim analyst and offensive coordinator. It's been rumored that Alabama prefers a candidate who's coached under Saban, with the main people on that list being Sarkisian, Georgia head coach Kirby Smart, and Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin.

If the Tide were to look away from that tree and interview other candidates, Oregon head coach Dan Lanning and Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney have been mentioned. Sarkisian will be one of the leading options, most likely behind Smart in Alabama's “want” list. He's built Texas football back up to its standards, leading them to the College Football Playoff in 2023. Sarkisian is a phenomenal offensive mind and is one of the best high school recruiters in the nation. If he can bring back Texas football, he can surely continue to win in Tuscaloosa.