Alabama football rumors: 2 key candidates were never in the mix to replace Nick Saban

While it became crystal clear to everyone involved that Kalen DeBoer had to be the guy to replace Nick Saban at Alabama, that wasn't exactly the case for the rest of us following along back home. Saban abruptly retiring set in motion a few more revolutions on the ole coaching carousel than we expected. Between Saban retiring and Dell McGee taking over at Georgia State were 10 big changes.

Despite having had a ton of success previously at Washington, Fresno State and Sioux Falls, as well as a well-thought-of, but brief coordinator tenure at Indiana, DeBoer's arrival in Tuscaloosa has been met with mixed reviews. Not only does he have to replace the greatest head coach in college football history in Saban, but he must get acquainted with a region of the country he has never been a part of.

Regardless, Alabama athletic director is certain DeBoer is his guy. We shall see. Anyway, one of the most interesting nuggets in Chis Low's latest for ESPN.com about the transition of power at Alabama was not who was up for the job, but who wasn't even considered for the post. While DeBoer ultimately "beat out" Florida State head coach Mike Norvell, Lane Kiffin and Dabo Swinney weren't considered.

To be fair, neither was Kirby Smart, but keep in mind Dan Lanning and Steve Sarkisian fired out "I'm staying put!" tweets in the lead-up to DeBoer getting the job. What does this mean for the other two?

Alabama rumors: Lane Kiffin, Dabo Swinney never considered for HC gig

While Lanning, Sarkisian and Smart all had Alabama ties, not even considering Kiffin or Swinney raises a few red flags. Clearly, Alabama does not think Kiffin is capable of handling a job of its echelon. Byrne seems to think he is doing just fine over that at good Ole Miss. In fact, the new playoff format and the SEC going division-less helps Kiffin and the Rebels more than any other program.

As for Swinney, this just says that the game is passing him by with each and every passing nanosecond. He may have been a walk-on wide receiver who played for Gene Stallings in the early 1990s, but Swinney is never going to get with the times. I mean, why even bother trying to poach him away from a place he has complete control over? It is not like he is ever going to do the transfer portal.

Overall, I appreciate the fact that Alabama had a deeper coaching search than merely just DeBoer. Byrne and company will never admit this, but they definitely were looking at Lanning, Norvell and Sarkisian, too. Nobody in their right mind thought DeBoer tucked away in the Pacific Northwest was the guy destined to replace Saban. To be frank, nobody watching 2019 Indiana thought so either...

DeBoer is going to do just fine leading Alabama, but Kiffin and Swinney definitely need some PR help.