It feels inevitable that the Alabama Crimson Tide will need a new offensive coordinator this offseason.

Current Bama offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien desperately wants to get back to the NFL. And it feels like he'll have several opportunities to go back this offseason.

There have already been reports that O'Brien could rejoin the New England Patriots staff and serve as Bill Belichick's offensive coordinator. O'Brien could also be a candidate to replace Nathaniel Hackett as the Denver Broncos head coach.

Either way, I don't expect O'Brien back in Tuscaloosa next season.

And that means Nick Saban will be looking for a new playcaller.

You never know what direction Saban will go when he's looking for an offensive coordinator. His decision to hire Lane Kiffin in 2014 was surprising. So was his choice to hire Brian Daboll in 2017.

When Saban replaces O'Brien, I think the hire could be equally surprising.

The thing about Saban is that he's always willing to evolve — especially on offense. He may not love the style of offense that's being played these days (up-tempo/spread), but he's willing to change so that Alabama doesn't become stale.

If he continues to have that approach, then I think he could make an extremely bold offensive coordinator hire.

I'm thinking Arizona Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury could be a possibility to run Saban's offense in 2023.

It doesn't seem like Kingsbury is going to get another year with the Cardinals.

Kingsbury is 28-35-1 as Arizona's head coach. He's made one NFL playoff appearance (a loss to the Los Angeles Rams last season in the first round) and his relationship with Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray doesn't appear to be in a good place.

If/when Kingsbury is fired, it seems logical that he'd return to the college game where he spent the first 10 years of his coaching career (including six seasons as the head coach at Texas Tech).

Kingsbury is a Mike Leach disciple, so he has deep roots in the Air Raid offense.

However, if Kingsbury is hired at Alabama, I don't think Saban is going to suddenly start running a traditional Air Raid offense. Kingsbury's time in the NFL has forced him to adapt his offensive approach (the close hash marks don't allow NFL teams to spread defenses out as much). I could see him running a hybrid Air Raid/Pro-Style offense in Tuscaloosa. And I think Saban would be open to that because of his willingness to evolve.

Kingsbury to Alabama could be a game-changer for Alabama. It could give their offense a spark (not that it needs one — Bama still had a top-five offense in 2022) and change the way every team has to prepare for the Crimson Tide.

Remember, Kingsbury was briefly the offensive coordinator at USC before taking the Cardinals job, so he was once a coveted playcaller. I wouldn't be shocked if he becomes a serious candidate to join Saban's staff in the coming weeks.

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