Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban stunned the college football world by retiring on Wednesday. 

ESPN's Chris Low first reported what is arguably the biggest college football news of the century. 

Nick Saban is retiring, sources tell ESPN. He won six national titles at Alabama.

— Chris Low (@ClowESPN) January 10, 2024

It shouldn't be a complete shocker that Saban is retiring. He's 72, after all. And the duties of a college football coach have increased significantly in recent years thanks to the NIL era and the NCAA transfer portal. It was already a grind thanks to recruiting, but it's reached new heights over the last couple of years. 

Of course, with Saban heading for a year round stay at his lake house, the attention immediately turns to who his replacement will be. 

Unlike when Bob Stoops retired from Oklahoma, there's no Lincoln Riley waiting in the wings to take over for Saban. The hire will almost certainly be an external hire. 

Here are the six most likely options. 

Dan Lanning — Oregon head coach 

Lanning makes sense as Alabama's top choice. He was a graduate assistant under Saban in 2015 and he spent four seasons on Kirby Smart's staff at Georgia. He's also off to a great start at Oregon, leading the Ducks to a 22-5 record over his first two seasons leading the program. 

Would Lanning want to follow a legend at Alabama? It's going to be tough for anyone to live up to Saban's accomplishments. In fact, it's doubtful that anyone will. And Alabama fans aren't going to be patient after the last 15 years of success under Saban. That's the only thing that might give Lanning pause. The Missouri native has a good thing going at Oregon right now. 

Update: Lanning announced on Thursday that he's not leaving Oregon. 

pic.twitter.com/NKnRYbS4u9

— Dan Lanning (@CoachDanLanning) January 11, 2024

Lane Kiffin — Ole Miss head coach

Kiffin knows what it takes to have success at Alabama — he spent three seasons as Saban's offensive coordinator in Tuscaloosa. 

The former Tennessee/USC head coach also knows what it takes to have success in the SEC as a head coach. He's led Ole Miss to two of their best seasons in program history. This past season, Kiffin and the Rebels went 11-2. 

Kiffin would likely jump at the chance to replace Saban at Alabama. He'd have resources like he's never had before. But would Alabama want to deal with Kiffin and his big personality? He spends an inordinate amount of time on social media and the big Bama donors might not like that. 

Dabo Swinney — Clemson head coach 

A couple of years ago, my attention would've gone straight to Dabo. He played at Alabama and he was a graduate assistant there in the pre-Saban era. But Swinney's star has dimmed a bit in recent years. The Tigers haven't won more than 11 games in a season since 2019. And they went just 9-4 this past season. 

Still, Swinney is one of the few active head coaches with a national championship on his resume. And he's only 54, which is younger than Saban was when he took over at Alabama in 2007. Maybe Swinney just needs a fresh start. He's complained recently about not being appreciated enough at Clemson. I think he'd be open to leaving, but would Alabama turn his direction? 

Steve Sarkisian — Texas head coach 

Sarkisian has done a nice job of rehabbing his image after alcohol issues cost him his job at USC in 2015. He started rehabbing that image during a stint as an analyst at Alabama under Saban. And he later served as Alabama's offensive coordinator for two seasons. 

The California native would be an easy sell after leading Texas to the College Football Playoff this season. Sark also led the Longhorns to a win against Alabama this season. If Sark came to Tuscaloosa, maybe he could bring Arch Manning along with him. 

Marcus Freeman — Notre Dame head coach 

If Alabama wants to go outside of the Saban tree, they could take a look at Marcus Freeman, another young and promising coach. Freeman is 38 (his birthday is actually today, the day Saban retired) and he played college football at Ohio State. 

During his first two years at Notre Dame, Freeman has led the Irish to a 19-8 record. It's not easy to win at Notre Dame. And he'd have a better shot at winning a natty at Alabama. But still, Freeman seems like a midwest kinda guy. It's worth noting that he turned down a chance to be the defensive coordinator at LSU after the 2020 season, instead opting to stay at Cincinnati. 

Brian Daboll — New York Giants head coach 

This one seems unlikely, but it's plausible. Daboll is 15-18-1 in two seasons as the Giants' head coach. And he'll likely need a playoff appearance next season to keep his job. That's unlikely with Daniel Jones at quarterback while playing in the NFC East against Jalen Hurts and Dak Prescott. 

Daboll was Alabama's offensive coordinator in 2017 and he was a graduate assistant under Saban at Michigan State. He's also coached under Bill Belichick, who is close to Saban. Maybe Daboll sees the writing on the wall and exits New York before they can fire him. I don't think, however, that he'd be near the top of Alabama's list. 

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