5 Nick Saban replacements without any Alabama ties

It's over. While the suffering ends for many college football teams out there, we may never fully appreciate what Nick Saban meant for the sport in its entirety. Now in his early 70s, college football is a young man's game. After spending a few years back in the NFL leading the Miami Dolphins, Saban returned to the college game in 2007. 17 years later, he built the greatest dynasty we will ever see.

When I was growing up in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the Alabama Crimson Tide football program was a complete afterthought. Their boosters were out of control and the brand was stuck in yesteryear, forever chasing the ghost of Paul "Bear" Bryant, with a little Gene Stallings luck sprinkled in between. Saban transformed Alabama into a national champion within three seasons on the job.

Along the way, he had several outstanding football minds serve under him, many of whom were tied to this job. Whether it be Dan Lanning (Oregon), Lane Kiffin (Ole Miss), Steve Sarkisian (Texas) or even Kirby Smart (Georgia), all were better off working under Saban. Of course, Dabo Swinney (Clemson) is still out there removed from it all, as he played wide receiver for Stallings back in the very early 1990s.

So if we wanted to bring in a complete outside hire, here are five candidates with zero Alabama ties.

5. Sherrone Moore will be a Power Four head coach by this time next year

Should Jim Harbaugh leave for the NFL, I would venture to guess that Michigan will be promoting his successor from within. While I would tend to believe that Harbaugh's Ann Arbor heir apparent would be that of offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore, the Wolverines also have a fantastic defensive coordinator in Jesse Minter. There is a chance Mike Macdonald could come back to lead them, too.

While I think no matter what happens at Michigan involving Harbaugh, Moore will be a Power Four head coach by this time next year at the absolute latest. Whether that is at a place like Michigan remains to be seen. However, I think he kind of sort of fits into what it would take to win games at a place like Alabama. Moore does not have SEC coaching ties, but his style of play will fit the SEC.

Along with maybe Georgia co-defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann, who was a student assistant on Saban's staff in the late 2000s to early 2010s, Moore is pretty much the only non-head coach who could take the mantle in Tuscaloosa. That speaks volumes to what Moore is as an offense-minded coach. Culturally, it may not be the most seamless of fits, but I think it could work out long-term here.

Keep in mind that the Wolverines beat the Crimson Tide in Saban's last-ever game as a head coach.