Alabama AD Greg Byrne explains what Tide are looking for in Nick Saban's replacement
Alabama simply won't be able to replace Nick Saban.
There's no replacing a seven-time national championship head coach and what he brought to the Crimson Tide sideline for 17 seasons.
Unfortunately, Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne will have no choice but to try and keep the program steady with the news of Saban's retirement breaking on Wednesday – the time has come for Byrne to start making some calls.
A ton of names are already being thrown around social media and this is a job opening that's going to get plenty of attention. Saban has turned Alabama into a football factory and even if a couple of high-profile players leave in the wake of Saban's retirement, the school's next head coach is going to have plenty with which to work.
Speaking of Alabama's next head coach, Byrne explained on social media that the only thing we can trust in regard to Saban's successor is what comes out of his mouth.
That said, he did leave a few hints as to what Alabama is looking for.
Several big-time names already being tossed around on the coaching hot stove include Oregon head coach Dan Lanning – who was a grad assistant at Alabama in 2015 – Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney – who played wide receiver at Alabama and coached the Crimson Tide in the late 90s – and Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian – who was an offensive analyst and interim offensive coordinator for the Tide in 2016-17.
Saban went 206-29 at Alabama with six national championships. His first championship win came during the 2002-03 season, while serving as LSU's head coach.
More must-reads: