The college football world was rocked Wednesday by the news that Nick Saban is retiring from coaching, creating an opening for what has always been one of the biggest jobs in the sport.
The list of potential candidates will be lengthy and headlined by Dabo Swinney from Clemson, Kirby Smart from Georgia and Lane Kiffin from Ole Miss.
Could Marcus Freeman be a potential candidate at Alabama?
As much as we’d like to think not, one national college football reporter is already mentioning him. Here is what Pete Thamel, senior college football writer at ESPN, put on social media right after the news broke:
With no likely internal replacements at Alabama, here’s a quick projected target list. Dan Lanning, Kalen DeBoer, Dabo Swinney, James Franklin, Mike Norvell and Marcus Freeman. All come with complications and big buyouts, as it’s difficult to move entrenched coaches. https://t.co/0K2NWk8CtL
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) January 10, 2024
Alabama may not simply have the pick of the litter for its next head coach, but it is going to be really hard for any coach — especially one with ties to Alabama — to say no to.
With that in mind wouldn’t Marcus Freeman or James Franklin, both of which Thamel mentioned, feel like reaches?
Stay tuned as we continue to cover this blockbuster story on what happens to be Marcus Freeman’s 38th birthday.
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