Another big name adds up in James Franklin’s replacement hunt. With coaches like Clark Lea, Eli Drinkwitz, Brent Key, Bob Chesney, and Mike Elko already drawing buzz, another $10.2 million SEC coach makes his way up to the list. As he emerges as the top favorite of retired linebacker Jon Sauber, who believes the chances of Penn State landing the SEC coach got a little more life after their loss to Oklahoma.

Kalen DeBoer is the one making the buzz. He was already facing firing threats after Florida State’s loss and after missing playoffs last year, but 8 wins saved his fate. Now losing to Oklahoma didn’t look good on DeBoer’s resume, which puts them at risk of missing the playoffs once again. This shift might put him in the hot seat once again, opening possibilities for Penn State.

The Centre Daily Times’ Penn State beat reporter Jon Sauber said, “He’s been one of Penn State’s top targets from the beginning. I think it was, early on, a little bit pie in the sky. Of course, Alabama’s close game with South Carolina—there was a chance it could have picked up there. It didn’t, and then the loss to Oklahoma nudged the door open a little bit.”

On top of that, growing up and making his career in the Midwest, he also proved himself coaching teams like Sioux Falls and winning three NAIA Football National Championships and leading the Washington Huskies to the playoffs, losing only to Michigan in 2023, before moving across the country to replace Nick Saban. On top of it, his 121-18 overall coaching record just strengthens Penn State’s interest.

Yet none of it panned out the same after coming to Alabama. “I think the fit at Alabama with Kalen DeBoer has not always been the best, and I think that could be the reason for interest on his side,” Sauber said.

Looking at Aggies’ championship berth and this season’s success, Mike Elko emerged as the top favorite before DeBoer, but after signing a contract extension with Texas A&M, they shifted to him. If DeBoer chooses to leave Alabama for Penn State, he owes them $4 million until December 31, with his buyout dropping to $3 million next year and disappearing entirely at the start of 2027.

With James Franklin’s buyout reduced to $9 million from $49 million after his move to Virginia Tech, they might even offer Kalen DeBoer a better salary than Alabama. Now, Penn State’s fans might root for Auburn in the Iron Bowl because if Bama loses to them, there’s no way they will make it to the playoffs, which might even decide DeBoer’s fate with the team.

But if things go in Alabama’s favor, Sauber said Penn State might turn to Georgia Tech’s head coach, Brent Key. For now, DeBoer is positive about their chances.

Kalen DeBoer teams playoff berth looks shaky

The new college football ranking didn’t sit well with Kalen DeBoer and his team, as after their loss to Oklahoma, they fell to no. 10 with just Eastern Illinois and Auburn left in their schedule. The resume still has ranked wins over Georgia, Vanderbilt, Missouri, and Tennessee, which were all top 25 opponents at the time of victory. But despite those wins, they are ranked behind two-loss Notre Dame. This puts Alabama in fear of missing the playoffs this year too.

CFP chairman Hunter Yurachek explained the reason behind it, saying, “Those are two really good 8-2 teams. But I think you look at the losses of Notre Dame and the losses of Alabama, and that was really one of the defining metrics that we used.”

Their season-opening loss against Florida State did most of the damage. Even Kalen DeBoer expressed his confidence in Alabama’s playoff berth while focusing on wins. “I just know we have a ton of quality wins,” DeBoer further adds that he knows the CFP committee looks “strongly at the losses” but also said that Alabama has “shown consistency and improvement throughout the year.”

Now, let’s wait and see if the remaining two games land Alabama in the playoffs or not.