Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Kalen DeBoer is one Iron Bowl loss to the Auburn Tigers away from being public enemy No. 1 in Tuscaloosa following a 23-21 loss to the Oklahoma Sooners at Bryant-Denny Stadium this past Saturday. In no certain terms, Alabama fans will be pleading for Greg Byrne, or potentially his replacement if he's collateral, to replace DeBoer if Auburn wins that football game.
Perhaps DeBoer wants to get out ahead of the fact that he's not fully been accepted in the south and proactively find a path forward. PennLive's Max Ralph believes the Penn State Nittany Lions are a potential option for DeBoer's next career move.
"Last week, we mentioned how well Alabama was positioned to make a run at the College Football Playoff, and that would be a prohibiting factor for DeBoer to wind up in Happy Valley," Ralph wrote.
"The Crimson Tide still has a path to the dance. But a loss this past weekend to Oklahoma has made it less clear, and boy, has it ratcheted up the pressure on DeBoer in his current seat.
"SEC — and Alabama, specifcally — fans don’t take it lightly when you fall short of expectations. Even though DeBoer’s two teams haven’t been disasters, this is a program used to the Nick Saban dynasty.
"DeBoer may be ready to get out of town as soon as possible, and Penn State would be licking its chops if he falls into the Lions’ lap. He has a long track record of success at multiple levels."
Why wouldn't DeBoer want to go to a place where 9-3 would be celebrated? Sure, Penn State fans grew tired of 9-3 seasons under James Franklin before his firing, but there wouldn't be that level of pressure from a first-year coach.
The Nittany Lions' fanbase would understand the timeline it'd take DeBoer to build a sustainable winner in the Big Ten better than the Crimson Tide's right now in the SEC. DeBoer makes a lot of sense for Penn State and vice versa.
Alabama should get in on this hiring cycle and further throw the Lane Kiffin saga into a chaotic whirlwind while they're at it. Those two are destined for a Kiffin head coaching tenure at some point.