With Nick Saban retiring, Alabama will likely need to pay top dollar to buy out their preferred head coaching candidate. While that may not be an issue, it pays to know how much they’ll wind up paying.
According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, the buyouts for Alabama’s reported top five coaching candidates range from $4 million to $20 million. Oregon head coach Dan Lanning outpaces the rest by a sizeable sum at $20 million for his buyout.
Coming in at second is national title game runner-up Kalen DeBoer, whose buyout now sits at $12 million. That’s the last of the eight-figure buyouts.
In third is two-time national champion Dabo Swinney from Clemson. An Alabama alum in his own right, Swinney’s buyout is $7.5 million.
Penn State head coach James Franklin sits at $6 million for his buyout, while Florida State head coach Mike Norvell’s is $4 million.
Buyouts for potential Alabama head coach candidates
Dan Lanning — $20 million
Kalen DeBoer — $12 million
Dabo Swinney — $7.5 million
James Franklin — $6 million
Mike Norvell — $4 million— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) January 10, 2024
As we mentioned earlier, price is likely to be no object. Alabama has the funds to pay for the buyout of probably any coach in the country, no matter how expensive that buyout is.
Who do you think Alabama will hire as their next head coach? How much money do you think they’ll set aside to give him the job?