Alabama hiring Kalen DeBoer keeps Dabo Swinney & Mike Norvell in the ACC

For two days since Alabama announced that Nick Saban was retiring as football coach, his rumored replacements seemed to grow longer by the day. Several top named coaches were linked to the Crimson Tide job by insiders.

Two ACC coaches were linked to the job, however, on Friday, Alabama hired former Washington coach Kaleb DeBoer to fill Saban's shoes, which means two high profile ACC coaches will remain in the conference for now.

Dabo Swinney and Mike Norvell remain in the ACC

Oregon coach Dan Lanning announced he was remaining in Eugene, which many believed he was Alabama's top choice as a replacement. After that, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney and Florida State coach Mike Norvell were some coaches mentioned, but both were passed by the Crimson Tide and will remain in the ACC.

Between Swinney and Norvell, if one of them was going to leave and take the job in the SEC, you would have to think it would have been Norvell. He led the Seminoles to a 12-0 season, they beat Louisville in the ACC Championship game, but were left out of the College Football Playoff despite being 13-0. It's no secret that the school is unhappy and looking to get out of the ACC and move to another conference.

Friday, he announced that he was remaining at Florida State and now his focus will shift to 2024 and try to get FSU to the 12-team CFP, something they would have made this season had it been a year earlier.

Swinney was tied to the job because he was a player back in his playing days, however, it's hard to see him leaving Clemson after what he has built there. Going to the SEC at Alabama with Texas and Oklahoma joining the conference would have made the path to the postseason harder for him, but remaining in the ACC makes it easier path for him to the 12-team playoff than in the vaunted SEC.

For the record, Virginia Tech will host Clemson at Lane Stadium and Florida State is not on the Hokies schedule in 2024.