Alabama doesn’t currently have an opening at offensive coordinator, but there are already rumors regarding possible replacements for Bill O’Brien should he leave the team this offseason.
During a Wednesday appearance on the Paul Finebaum Show, ESPN’s Pete Thamel mentioned Oklahoma offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby as a possible replacement for O’Brien at Alabama.
Lebby previously served as the offensive coordinator at Ole Miss (2020-21), Central Florida (2019) and Southeastern (2017) and also held multiple roles on Baylor’s offensive coaching staff from 2008-16. Last season, he helped the Sooners average 474 yards and 32.8 points per game last season. His fast-paced attack would offer a change in style for Alabama. Oklahoma ranked No. 127 out of 131 FBS teams, averaging just 26:11.85 of possession per game. By contrast, Alabama averaged 29:57.31 last season and 31:53.07 in 2021.
“I would think that Nick Saban saw the fits that Tennessee and Josh Heupel gave him this year,” Thamel said, “and offensively, I think they’ll probably trend a little bit and maybe overcorrect a little bit more that way as they go.
“Now, I’m not saying they’re gonna turn into the Baylor offense from the mid-2000s. But one name I’ve heard is [Jeff Lebby], the Oklahoma offensive coordinator. He’s obviously had success in the SEC West footprint (in 2020-21 at Ole Miss). He’s obviously learned from Lane Kiffin and branched out to Oklahoma last year — to some mixed results in a rebuilding year. But I do think that if the option schematically is to go faster or slower, my expectation is Alabama’s gonna end up going faster.”
Lebby is viewed as one of the top offensive minds in college football and is currently in the second year of a three-yard $5.7 million deal with Oklahoma. According to ScoonerScoop, Alabama and Georgia expressed interest in Lebby about potential openings for their respective offensive coordinator positions in recent weeks.
While it’s unclear how far conversations went, the Crimson Tide’s initial pursuit was turned down by Lebby. However, Alabama is expected to make another run for him in the event Bill O’Brien leaves the program.
O’Brien earned $1.1 million from Alabama this past season. Lebby is currently making $1.8 million at Oklahoma. If the Crimson Tide is interested in bringing the Oklahoma alum to Tuscaloosa, it would almost certainly need to at least double the salary it was paying O’Brien.
According to a report from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, O’Brien has already interviewed with New England and is the Patriots' top candidate for their opening at offensive coordinator.