re: Kalen DeBoer was always the top target, per Cole Cubelic

quote:

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People keep saying he was the 4th or 5th option because of things they read on social media. Realistically, you're not signing someone that far down the list in less than 48 hours.

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Exactly. Byrne may have reached out to someone totally unrealistic like Kirby just because the worst he can do is say no, but this notion that guys like Lanning or Norvell wouldn't even give him the time of day is absolutely ridiculous. Alabama is a better job than either Oregon or FSU and even if the negotiations did eventually reach an impasse, they would have occurred if Byrne had actually reached out to either of them. If DeBoer was further down the list than either of those guys, much less both of them, there is no chance at all that we'd have been able to make a hire in 48 hours. The fact that we hired DeBoer that quickly suggests there had already some backchanneling going on and he knew that Byrne would be giving him a call whenever Saban retired.