Next Alabama Football Coach Odds: Dan Lanning, Lane Kiffin Among Favorites

The odds suggest Dan Lanning or Lane Kiffin will replace Nick Saban at Alabama. The legendary Crimson Tide head coach announced his retirement Wednesday night after 17 seasons in Tuscaloosa, causing shockwaves across the college football world.

Oddsmakers didn’t waste time releasing the next Alabama football coach odds following the big news. Sportsbooks put out their odds to be the next Alabama coach just hours after the announcement, with Dan Lanning and Lane Kiffin leading the way.

Who will be the next Alabama football coach? Let’s analyze the odds and determine the best bets.

Next Alabama Football Coach Odds

In the next Alabama football coach odds, Dan Lanning is the favorite to replace Nick Saban. At +200 odds, Lanning has 33% implied probability to become the next Alabama head coach.

SBD odds as of January 10th.

Dan Lanning the Frontrunner

The current favorite in the odds to be the next Alabama football coach is Dan Lanning. The 37-year-old Missouri native is the current head coach at Oregon, where he has led the Ducks to a 22-5 record over the past two seasons.

Prior to his time at Oregon, Lanning served as the defensive coordinator at Georgia, where he helped lead the Bulldogs to the national championship game in 2021. Lanning also has experience as a graduate assistant at Alabama, which could give him an edge in the hiring process.

Lanning offers plenty of what the Crimson Tide would be looking for, including a relentless mentality and strong track record in developing talent. He has helped players like Nakobe Dean, Troy Franklin, and Tez Johnson reach elite levels.

Lanning is also regarded as an excellent recruiter, already securing commitments from several five-star and four-star recruits in his first Oregon class. This is a pivotal element to consider, given how well Alabama has recruited in the Nick Saban era.

Lanning is reportedly very happy in Oregon, however, and is embracing the challenge of joining the Big Ten in 2024-25. The question becomes whether or not he would want to abandon what he’s building in Eugene and move his family to an entirely different part of the country.

What About Lane Kiffin?

Another top contender to be the next Alabama football coach is Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin. Kiffin is no stranger to Alabama football, having served as the team’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach from 2014-2016, helping the Crimson Tide win a national championship in 2015.

Kiffin has since gone on to become the head coach at Ole Miss, where he has led the Rebels to an 11-2 record in 2023. Kiffin’s familiarity with Alabama and his success as a head coach make him a strong candidate for the job.

Kiffin helped influence Nick Saban to modernize Alabama’s offense during his time as OC there, and the two coaches maintain a strong relationship. We’d expect Saban would advocate for his friend if Alabama sought his advice on his potential replacement.

Recruiting ability is a question mark for Kiffin. His last three Ole Miss classes ranked in the mid-teens, below Alabama’s elite top-5 standard set by Saban. Furthermore, the culture fit is also uncertain given some of Kiffin’s past controversies.

While he may be controversial and a potential sideshow to the actual football game at times, Kiffin took the Rebels to a New Year’s Six bowl game this season. His resume may finally be backing up his bluster. Furthermore, Kiffin was noticeably quiet on Twitter following the Saban retirement news, raising many eyeballs.

Next Alabama Football Coach Longshots to Consider

When it comes to the next Alabama football coach odds, some of the names are completely unrealistic and just placed on the list to attract more eyeballs. For example, Deion Sanders isn’t coming to Alabama after just one season as a Power 5 coach with Colorado.

We also don’t see Urban Meyer returning to college football to coach Alabama football considering the off-field issues that have followed him during his NCAA to NFL tenures. The Tide likely won’t target a coach like Meyer or Sanders due to the off-the-field distractions they would bring with them.

Washington’s Kalen DeBoer is a more reasonable longshot, given his recent success at Washington. The 49-year-old, who won three NAIA national titles at Sioux Falls, owns a career record of 104-12 and is 12-2 all-time against ranked opponents.

He has never worked in the SEC, which might give some at Alabama pause as that league is seen as a different animal, but DeBoer recently hired Jimmy Sexton, the same agent as Saban and many SEC coaches. DeBoer is a proven winner, and those are the types of personnel Alabama needs if they wish to keep their dynasty going.