The Alabama Crimson Tide have had to scramble to find a replacement offensive coordinator, but Kalen DeBoer appears to be interested in promoting from within, elevating a longtime colleague in Nick Sheridan.
DeBoer had brought former Washington Huskies offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb along with him to Alabama to take over a similar role after Nick Saban's retirement. However, Grubb quickly reversed course, opting instead to take an opportunity with the Seattle Seahawks as new head coach Mike Macdonald's offensive coordinator.
The move suddenly left Alabama and DeBoer with a massive hole in their coaching staff. Matt Zenitz from 247Sports is reporting that instead of looking somewhere else, DeBoer is expected to promote tight ends coach Nick Sheridan to the offensive coordinator position for Alabama.
The current plan for Alabama seems to be to promote tight ends coach Nick Sheridan to offensive coordinator, sources tell @247Sports.
The former Michigan QB helped Washington post big numbers the last two years under Kalen DeBoer and was previously an OC at Indiana.? pic.twitter.com/ohzf2pv3AY
— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) February 13, 2024
A former quarterback for the Michigan Wolverines, Sheridan has climbed up the coaching ranks over the past two decades. His experience includes graduate assistant stints at Tennessee and Western Kentucky, along with several roles at Indiana before being promoted to their offensive coordinator position. Sheridan then left Indiana to serve as Washington's tight ends coach, where he reunited with DeBoer after crossing paths with him while with the Hoosiers.
That experience at Indiana and Washington likely means that Sheridan is someone DeBoer can trust after the sudden opening at offensive coordinator. However, that doesn't mean that Sheridan's job is safe. If the Crimson Tide can't perform on offense in Sheridan's first year running that side of the football, Alabama's rabid fan base will be quick to call for a more qualified replacement.
That's the life of an assistant coach in the SEC, so the pressure will be on Sheridan right away to create an explosive offense that could vault Jalen Milroe into the Heisman Trophy conversation. If that doesn't happen, then Sheridan could quickly be looking for another opportunity in 2025.
