Joel Klatt labels Kalen DeBoer as the 'most logical' hire for Alabama

As speculation continues to abound about the next Alabama head coach, FOX analyst Joel Klatt sees one man as making the most sense right now in the coaching search: Washington‘s Kalen DeBoer.

Klatt pointed to the process itself as evidence DeBoer may now be the man in the sights for the Alabama brass.

“In my estimation, the most logical candidate in terms of the expediency of the way that they want to operate is Kalen DeBoer,” Klatt said on The Herd on Thursday. “I’m actually going to be pretty surprised if Kalen DeBoer is not the next coach at Alabama.

“I’ll tell you what I what I know and what I think. So, let me start with what I think. My belief was that this needed to work very quickly. I was told that this was gonna happen within 72 hours, regardless of name, that they wanted to move quickly so they could solidify the locker room.”

If the move is going to happen that fast it means something is borderline imminent right now. Some of the potential names Alabama might be interested in have already moved on.

That should only accelerate the goings-on with other names.

“They want to move quickly. So for me, the list was three names,” Klatt said. “You start with (Steve Sarkisian). It’s immediate, you know him, you can offer him the job. If he says no, which I assume that he has, then you move to Dan Lanning. Dan Lanning has now said no. And then the third name on that list is Kalen DeBoer. And the reason is, is because the other names that would be prominent on that list, names like a Dabo Swinney, or a Ryan Day, or a Lincoln Riley, or Kirby Smart. Like, they don’t make a lot of sense for one reason or another. But Kalen DeBoer does.”

One factor weighing against the hire of the aforementioned coaches is a large buyout. Most have a steep cost to be broken away from their current contracts.

DeBoer might not only be more accessible, he might also be more willing. He’s certainly got the resume.

“He’s 104-12 as a head coach. He’s excellent,” Klatt said. “It’s wild how successful he has been and you’re exactly right. He did more with a lesser roster than even Lanning did at Oregon. So, this guy is a guy that I think has been looking quietly. One of the reasons I think that he has been looking is not anything negative about Washington, other than he’s not working right now for the person that hired him.

“Jen Cohen was the athletic director that hired him at Washington. She’s now the athletic director at USC. And so for Kalen DeBoer, who hired [agent] Jimmy Sexton, now he can be really in the middle of all the SEC conversation.”

Time will tell whether Klatt’s hunch proves right and DeBoer emerges as the top target for the Crimson Tide. One thing is certain, though.

Everyone will be watching.