The Penn State Nittany Lions made a tough decision to move on from longtime head coach James Franklin earlier this season. He had a lot of success rebuilding the program during his time with Penn State, but the lack of wins in big games had become a major problem.
Since making the move to fire Franklin, the Nittany Lions have been connected to a lot of different names. No one knows who the favorite is at this point in time, but there are quite a few coaches to keep an eye on.
Most recently, legendary head coach Nick Saban spoke out with a strong endorsement for former New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll to be in consideration. Another name to watch has been current Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Kalen DeBoer.
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DeBoer is currently looking to secure a spot in the College Football Playoff with Alabama. He has had a successful second season leading the program after taking over for Saban.
While the rumors have been hanging around about DeBoer and Penn State, the idea of him leaving the Crimson Tide has been viewed as far-fetched. Despite the surprise it would be for DeBoer to leave Alabama for the Nittany Lions, a new update has been shared.
Former LSU champion defender and NFL defensive tackle Breiden Fehoko took to social media to share what he’s heard. He believes that the smoke surrounding DeBoer and Penn State is very much real.
“Penn State is really a wildcard I think people are overlooking,” Fehoko wrote on X. “That Deboer smoke is 100% real now.”
Many in the comments still don’t buy the idea of DeBoer leaving the Crimson Tide, but this update is something to keep a close eye on.
Since taking over as the head coach at Alabama, DeBoer has compiled a an 18-6 record. In his two years at Washington in 2022 and 2023, he went 25-3 and led the program to a national championship game in 2023.
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As a whole, DeBoer has gone 122-18 in his career as a college football head coach. He has a long proven track record of winning at a high level everywhere he has been.
The Nittany Lions cannot afford to miss with their hire. DeBoer would be about as surefire of a hire as Penn State could find. It will be interesting to see if the program actually has a legitimate chance to steal him away from the Crimson Tide.
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