Coaching carousel 2025-26

[BamaMoon]

Did you not pay attention to the last couple of years under CNS? I love CNS to death as our coach but things were starting to slip.
To answer your question on when we start blaming the current staff, if you don't give him at least three years to get in his players then you're no better than Auburn.

Exactly. I don't even think it's fair to count what happened in '24. Outside of the center and WR he brought from Washington, we were playing with the CNS leftovers!

I think everyone calling for us to move on from CKD should take a look at how TOSU handled their last coaching transition and remained patient to let him figure it out.

Not only did they win it all last year, but they are in the driver's seat to do it again this year!

 

[Bamabuzzard]

The closer it gets to Kiffins decision the more I think he stays. Ole Miss will match any offer LSU or Florida make and at some point Kiffin has to start thinking about legacy and reputation, just like Saban did. But, Kiffins no Saban and it doesn't seem Lane has matured enough to start thinking that way. But if Ole Miss matches the money there's really no competitive reason to jump ship and have to rebuild. Its taking steps backwards.

 

[BamaMoon]

If any of Bama’s QBs jump in the portal, this could be a huge get for them.

It's total speculation, but if Mack were to hit the portal, JS would likely take him and win!

 

[arthurdawg]

Exactly. I don't even think it's fair to count what happened in '24. Outside of the center and WR he brought from Washington, we were playing with the CNS leftovers!

I think everyone calling for us to move on from CKD should take a look at how TOSU handled their last coaching transition and remained patient to let him figure it out.

Not only did they win it all last year, but they are in the driver's seat to do it again this year!

DeBoer recruits well. The culture and atmosphere are better than they have been since 2017. He runs an offense that brings in recruits and is flexible. We have a defense that is playing extremely well and is also designed to bring portal guys in quickly. They play lots of kids too, which is going to be important in the portal era. They have made solid improvements in many areas this year. DeBoer and his staff seem to be good managers and cognizant of what we need to do better, which is also very important and lacking amongst many football staffs.

We'd be idiotic to pull the plug and move on. We won't get a better coach, the roster will disintegrate, recruiting will be dinged. And for three years we will end up winning 7-8-9 games a year at best and squander much of the national attention remaining from the Saban years.

All of us grasshoppers need a little patience...

 

[Crimson Speed]

Not long ago Saban made a comment (paraphrasing) along the lines of “if choosing between an NFL job or college job with college athletics in its present state, why would someone choose to coach in college?” His point being that kids are no longer motivated to work towards improvement and getting to the next level to “maximize their value”. The vast majority are only concerned with getting what they can get now. And if someone offers them more, they walk out in a heartbeat, hit the portal and transfer. At least in the NFL you know who have coming back based on their contract. In college you may need to replace 70% or more of your roster each year. Who wants that?
If CNS truly believes that and we know it had impact on his decision to retire almost two years ago, why would he want to jump back in it? It certainly hasn’t gotten better over the past two years.

Exactly, Players always willing to leave for more money elsewhere was the deciding factor in CNS retiring. It hasn't changed and is not going to change anytime soon. It is also the leading reason why there are so many coaches being fired this year. College football has turned chaotic.

 

[GrayTide]

It's total speculation, but if Mack were to hit the portal, JS would likely take him and win!

If Mack sees the handwriting on the wall he will let Shepherd know he will be entering the portal. I think Simpson returns for his last year, the bigger concern will be what will Russell do?

 

[rolltide_21]

If any of Bama’s QBs jump in the portal, this could be a huge get for them.

Mack’s a west coast kid. Wouldn’t be surprised if it happened

 

[arthurdawg]

If Mack sees the handwriting on the wall he will let Shepherd know he will be entering the portal. I think Simpson returns for his last year, the bigger concern will be what will Russell do?

We hopefully end up with one of them for next year... But welcome to the brave new world!

 

[Joefus]

Thought Grubb would get poached before shep. Dang he was the coach with all the juice. Gonna be hard to replace him. Wonder if he’ll try and poach our staff like all of Sabans guys seemed to

 

[CrimsonBloodn62]

We hopefully end up with one of them for next year... But welcome to the brave new world!

Ty has said that he wants to win a national championship. If Bama doesn’t win it this year, could that be the deciding factor in whether he returns or enters the draft?

 

[Bamabuzzard]

If Mack sees the handwriting on the wall he will let Shepherd know he will be entering the portal. I think Simpson returns for his last year, the bigger concern will be what will Russell do?

From what we've heard Russell isn't close to being ready to be a starter. How much he can or will improve by next season is anybodys guess. But having the choice between a QB in Simpson who's proven hes a starter and a kid who so far isn't ready, DeBoer would be a fool to start a kid who (so far) has shown hes not ready and tell a kid who is a proven starter, hes not welcomed back. He turns down Simpson just to keep Russell and we go 7-5 with Russell as the starter, would be disastrous.

 

[tusks_n_raider]

From what we've heard Russell isn't close to being ready to be a starter. How much he can or will improve by next season is anybodys guess. But having the choice between a QB in Simpson who's proven hes a starter and a kid who so far isn't ready, DeBoer would be a fool to start a kid who (so far) has shown hes not ready and tell a kid who is a proven starter, hes not welcomed back. He turns down Simpson just to keep Russell and we go 7-5 with Russell as the starter, would be disastrous.

That’s a scenario I’m afraid not enough people are considering.

What if while that played out… Dante Moore declares for the NFL and Ty transfers to Oregon and wins a NC for Lanning while we ran him off for the Next Big Thing and go 7-5.

You talk about a HC seat being Red Hot.

If Ty wants to come back you have to give him that opportunity.

 

[arthurdawg]

From what we've heard Russell isn't close to being ready to be a starter. How much he can or will improve by next season is anybodys guess. But having the choice between a QB in Simpson who's proven hes a starter and a kid who so far isn't ready, DeBoer would be a fool to start a kid who (so far) has shown hes not ready and tell a kid who is a proven starter, hes not welcomed back. He turns down Simpson just to keep Russell and we go 7-5 with Russell as the starter, would be disastrous.

I've also heard (no insider here!) that Russell is iffy to truly be ready. It would nice if we could have Mack or Ty next year and then Russell afterwards. He is extremly talented, but looks like he weighs 150 soaking weight.

 

[arthurdawg]

That’s a scenario I’m afraid enough people aren’t considering.

What if while that played out… Dante Moore declares for the NFL and Ty transfers to Oregon and wins a NC for Lanning while we ran him off for the Next Big Thing and go 7-5.

You talk about a HC seat being Red Hot.

If Ty wants to come back you have to give him that opportunity.

Agreed. We have really good QBs signed and coming as well. You can't deny the Ty.

 

[Crimson Speed]

I think this will be a first. A head coach of a team (Ole Miss) that is probably a win away from a 1st-round bye in the CFPs, yet he's shopping around for another job?

Kiffin has pushed his redemption story for a while now. Even the 4-letter network did a special on it. If he bolts now, everything he's done with the warm and fuzzies goes out the window. He's back to where he was when he left Tennessee.

Although money will have an impact on Kiffin's decision, I believe he has matured as a coach since he was in Tuscaloosa. His family just might play a pivotal part in his final decision. His achievement at Ole Miss has probably peaked and maintaining that has to be a factor. While Florida seems to be in play, he still would have to compete with Florida State and Miami for the creme of the crop down there. That is not the case for LSU, as they are the only major program in the state. Granted, both Florida and LSU have an abundance of great high school talent, but it seems that LSU holds a clear edge in recruiting within the state.

 

[Crimson Speed]

Saw one this morning that said Dabo was in serious talks with Arkansas.

Wish I could be more positive about CKD. We had big problems on offense and little has been done to fix them. I get that we'll lose occasional games to playoff caliber teams, I even get the loss to FSU, I don't get why we did nothing to improve our ability to run the ball. Any extension we give him should be offset by a lreduction in the buyout.

We are weak in offensive line talent. I don't see the running game making much improvement until we recruit some better talent that can open holes for the running backs.

 

[saturdaysarebet]

The closer it gets to Kiffins decision the more I think he stays. Ole Miss will match any offer LSU or Florida make and at some point Kiffin has to start thinking about legacy and reputation, just like Saban did. But, Kiffins no Saban and it doesn't seem Lane has matured enough to start thinking that way. But if Ole Miss matches the money there's really no competitive reason to jump ship and have to rebuild. Its taking steps backwards.

Can Ole Miss sustain their success? Clemson did it but they did so in a weak ACC.

 

[Cruiser]

Ty has said that he wants to win a national championship. If Bama doesn’t win it this year, could that be the deciding factor in whether he returns or enters the draft?

NIL and draft grade will form his decision

 

[RammerJammer14]

The point with Norvell is that no one would have thought it was an idiotic hire in January 2024. He was 23-4 at FSU the two prior seasons and had just finished an undefeated regular season with a conference title. We have the benefit of hindsight now, of course. At the time, he would have been universally viewed as anywhere from a good to great hire.

Downs was gone as soon as Saban retired from what I heard; didn’t matter who we hired. Sayin - he’s good, but he’s not starting at Alabama as a true freshman in 2024. Remember that prior to 2024, Milroe was viewed as a fringe Heisman candidate. As far as 2025 goes, I’d argue that you put Ty on OSU’s roster and Sayin on ours and face the exact same schedule, and you’d very likely see very similar results on both sides. Sayin is an elite talent but is also mostly the product of a pillow soft schedule in 2025 IMO. Haynes, I can’t really comment on. Hate that he left but it happens. I would also argue that for the most part Michigan didn’t face the murderous schedule that we’ve faced this season.

I would disagree that the talent Saban left was “second to none”. Very good, yes. But not stacked three-deep with NFL talent like we had from 2009-2020 or so. Those days are long gone in the NIL era. There are probably 10-15 teams in major CFB at a minimum that can match bodies with us. Possibly more.

I’m not arguing that DeBoer is flawless and deserves no criticism. There was a lack of discipline and composure in 2024 that led to some losses to inferior opponents. I’m just saying that of the available candidates in January 2024, I think he was the best choice and the correct choice. There’s not a CNS available in every hiring cycle. Time will tell if we can do better, but I can assure you that we could have done far, far worse.

Agree about Norvell. At the time everyone thought FSU had found a diamond in the rough.

As far as Milroe’s Heisman candidacy…..that was pure hype machine manufactured nonsense.

 

[DzynKingRTR]

I had a free Sirius radio weekend, so got to listen to some national sports talk radio. There is some persistent talk about DeBoer and Ped State. It ludicrous, but they wouldn't shut-up about it and to double down on the stupidity they incessantly talked about Kiffin to Alabama. Where do these morons come up with this crap?