After Nick Saban announced his retirement Wednesday, and the retrospectives took a brief pause, attention turned to the unknown. For the first time in 17 years, Alabama fans can wonder who will guide from the sidelines. The Crimson Tide need a new head coach.

UA players were told a replacement will be sought “within 72 hours.” Conflicting reports came by nightfall that the odds-on favorite, Dan Lanning, was in Tuscaloosa (per Sports Illustrated, he wasn’t). As college football fans are prone to do, candidates were quickly filtred online due to their age, if they had any branches on the Saban coaching tree and how much their buyout was.

As Alabama gets its spin on the modern-day head coaching carousel, here is a look at the potential options with their buyout figures and what they have said about leaving their current program.

Dan Lanning

School (years at): Oregon (2)

2024 Contract Buyout: $20 million

Lanning has become a popular pick ever since he found success with the Ducks. Saban even joked this year that Georgia head coach Kirby Smart beat Saban by hiring Lanning two days before he could in 2018. Lanning was previously a graduate assistant for Saban in 2015 for one season.

It’s a hard call to turn down, but Lanning, 37, has been adamant that he found a home in Eugene.

He told Oregon Live on Dec. 30 ahead of last month’s Fiesta Bowl about potentially leaving: “When you work with an administration like ours, a guy like (athletic director) Rob Mullens, you see the alignment within the University of the things that you want to accomplish, all of those things exist at Oregon. Innovation; college football is changing so fast and Oregon is willing to be on the cutting edge when it comes to that. For me, I don’t take that lightly and I feel like I have unfinished business here. There’s a lot that I want to accomplish here. Then, maybe more importantly than any of that, my kids, right? I have lived in eight different states. I’m tired of moving, right? You’ve got to change, like, license and all that stuff. It’s just not fun and probably even less fun for my wife. So we love Oregon. It’s been everything that we wanted. We get to coach great players, get to be around great people and this makes a lot of sense for us.”

Steve Sarkisian

Texas (3)

2024 buyout: $5 million

Sarkisian is coming off a career year, handing Saban his worst loss in Bryant-Denny Stadium history and reaching the other College Football Playoff semifinal. His life changed, personally and professionally, during his time as an analyst under Saban in 2016 then again as offensive coordinator in 2019-20, could he leave one burgeoning SEC power for an established one?

Following a close loss to Washington, UT athletic director Chris Del Conte told The Austin American-Statesman that he and Sarkisian will “hammer something out” regarding an extension for Sarkisian, who will earn $5.9 million in 2024.

Kalen DeBoer

Washington (2)

2024 buyout: $12 million

Could someone who was at Fresno State three years ago replace Nick Saban? DeBoer has as much recent success, aside from Smart, as anyone to make a compelling argument. DeBoer has proven to be a championship-level coach at every stop he’s made and similar to Sarkisian, is coming off a CFP appearance.

“You’re so focused on the recruiting and so focused on the game-planning, I’m not saying it’s not typical but I think a lot of times these things like this are done before or after the season, or in the offseason. Right now, we’re in the moment,” DeBoer said according to SI on Dec. 21 regarding contract extension talks.

Dabo Swinney

Clemson (16)

2024 buyout: $7.5 million

The once obvious candidate, Swinney would bring the pedigree and connections to Alabama tying back to his time as a walk-on in 1989 and upbringing in Pelham. The two-time national champion has also proven the ability to recruit within his home state, pulling in elite talent like former five-star Peter Woods, in that case away from Alabama and to the Tigers. The question becomes if Swinney, 54, wants to uproot a legacy that’s already shifted in recent years as Clemson has struggled.

It should be noted that in his most recent contract extension in 2022, Swinney retained the clause that his buyout would be higher should he leave for UA.

“People always like to say one plus one equals two, and it’s a simple thing. I don’t pay any attention. I was at Alabama 13 years. I love Alabama and always will. That won’t change,” Swinney told ESPN’s David Hale in 2019. ” … I love where I am, love what I do.”

Mike Norvell

Florida State (4)

2024 buyout: $4 million

If not for Jordan Travis’ injury, FSU likely would’ve kept Saban and Alabama out of the playoffs. Does Saban decide to hang it up in that universe? Who knows, but the narrative would write itself if Norvell joined the team that helped push the Seminoles out of the last four-team CFP.

Norvell is another high-caliber recruiter who managed significant on-field success last fall. He signed an extension in 2023, but at 42 years old, he would be the kind of long-term UA athletic director Greg Byrne has sought in filling UA’s men’s basketball and baseball openings.

• The questions we have as Nick Saban retires, replacement search beginsJan. 11, 2024, 12:04p.m.
• Why Kalen DeBoer could be a candidate for the Alabama job to replace Nick Saban (and why not)Jan. 11, 2024, 12:02p.m.
• Nick Saban retires: What we know today as Alabama searches for a coachJan. 11, 2024, 12:00p.m.
• Alabama HS coaches on Nick Saban’s retirement: ‘We are losing one of the all-time greats’Jan. 11, 2024, 3:03a.m.
• ‘I’m in denial’: Fans mourn at Nick Saban statue with oatmeal pies, shockJan. 11, 2024, 2:39a.m.

Nick Alvarez is a reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @nick_a_alvarez or email him at [email protected].