On Friday, the Michigan Wolverines completed the hiring of former longtime Utah Utes head coach Kyle Whittingham after Sherrone Moore's abrupt, controversial exit this offseason. Kalen DeBoer likely would've been their man had the Oklahoma Sooners beaten the Alabama Crimson Tide in the first round of the College Football Playoff instead of blowing a 17-0 lead to lose 34-24.
In response, at least according to Sports Illustrated's Pat Forde, Alabama could've hired Louisville Cardinals head coach Jeff Brohm in response. Louisville went 8-4 this season and defeated the Toledo Rockets in the Boca Raton Bowl, 27-22, on Tuesday.
"If the Tide had lost that game, would Kalen DeBoer be the next coach of the Wolverines instead of Whittingham? Did advancing in the playoffs delay DeBoer’s availability to the point where the Wolverines had to move on? The transfer portal opens Jan. 2, and being without a coach at that point could create roster chaos," Forde wrote.
"Additionally, would Jeff Brohm be headed to Alabama from Louisville if DeBoer were in line for Michigan? Would other dominoes have fallen along the way? Many questions, few definitive answers."
Brohm to Michigan was the hot rumor until the Whittingham hiring. Imagine Brohm to the Tide, though? Talk about a forced fit. Brohm is a Louisville native who played for the Cardinals and waited two decades to become the head football coach after his first stint with the team in 2003.
Jeff Brohm hire would've gone over worse for Alabama than Kalen DeBoer
DeBoer being the guy to replace Nick Saban didn't go over well in Tuscaloosa. Brohm replacing him, coming in with a worse head coaching record, would've been borderline catastrophic for the Crimson Tide faithful.
Completing the comeback against the Sooners was undoubtedly the most consequential win of the post-Saban era of Alabama football. Just above avoiding catastrophe in the 2025 Iron Bowl against the Auburn Tigers.
Had AU picked up the upset, Lane Kiffin might've even reconsidered the LSU Tigers and taken his truest dream job back in West Central Alabama.
Now, we're in the reality where Whittingham is in Ann Arbor, Brohm is still in the Bluegrass State, and DeBoer remains the guy who replaced the guy who has still not restored the "Bama Standard," though has a good chance to over the next month.