There was chatter late last season that Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer could have an interest in taking the open head coaching job at Michigan if the Crimson Tide didn't beat Oklahoma in the first round of the College Football Playoff. Alabama knocked off the Sooners 34-24, and DeBoer remained at Alabama, signing a contract extension with the program in April. Months after signing the contract extension, there is speculation brewing that a college program could try to lure DeBoer away this fall.
More news: Kirk Herbstreit Calls Out Notre Dame for ‘Embarrassing’ Schedule More news: Three Teams That Can Win the Big 12 During "Josh Pate's College Football Show" on Thursday, the host said he's hearing from agents in college football that there are few programs with coaches on the hot seat. USC is a looming possibility with Lincoln Riley needing to prove himself. If the Trojans parted ways with Riley, USC could go after DeBoer.
"If you talk to agents right now, they'll talk about (Dave Aranda) Baylor," Pate said. They'll talk about (Shane Beamer) South Carolina, (Luke Fickell) Wisconsin, (Mike Norvell) Florida State. "But every single one of them says, now, the earthquake would be USC, Lincoln Riley, because if that opens up... and the thought is they would pursue Kalen DeBoer and whether Kalen DeBoer leaves or not.
Either he leaves and Bama opens or he doesn't leave and USC still open.” DeBoer's buyout at Alabama wouldn't be cheap for the Trojans, who gave Riley a 10-year deal worth $110 million before the 2022 season. It's even more unclear if DeBoer would want to leave Alabama for USC. In April, DeBoer told Chris Low of On3 that he never spoke to Michigan about the head coaching job.
He appreciated the job, and knew what he was signing up for when he replaced former Alabama head coach Nick Saban. "I didn’t come here to follow Coach Saban only to turn around after two years and go somewhere else," DeBoer said. "I mean, this is Alabama.
That’s the way I was looking at it. "I love the support and love our players and love the direction and everything the staff has done to put the pieces together here over the last two years. A lot of heavy lifting’s been done to get us to this point." DeBoer could change his mind if Alabama underperforms this season.
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