Joel Klatt sees Washington’s Kalen DeBoer as the clear-cut option to succeed Nick Saban at Alabama.

During a Thursday appearance for “The Herd” with Colin Cowherd, Klatt echoed earlier reports of an expected quick timeline for the search in Tuscaloosa. That is to be expected in this era of college football, particularly at a powerhouse program such as Alabama.

“Well, I’ll tell you what I know and what I think… My belief was that this needed to work very quickly. I was told this was going to happen within 72 hours, regardless of name,” said Klatt. “They wanted to move quickly so that they can solidify the locker room… They want to move quickly, so for me, the list was three names.”

Klatt went on to list Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian, Oregon head coach Dan Lanning, and DeBoer as the likely shortlist for the job. Lanning has already emphatically confirmed he’s staying with the Ducks, and Klatt believes Sarkisian has also said no.

That leaves DeBoer out there, a figure Klatt believes has been “quietly” looking at the opportunities out there:

“The reason is because the other names that would be prominent on that list — like a Dabo Swinney or a Ryan Day or a Lincoln Riley or a Kirby Smart — don’t make sense for a lot of reasons or another, but Kalen DeBoer does. He’s 104-12 as a head coach,” Klatt explained.

“He’s excellent. It’s wild how successful he’s been, and you’re right. He did more with a lesser roster than even Lanning did at Oregon. So this guy is a guy that has been looking — quietly.”

Kalen DeBoer’s résumé

DeBoer has been wildly successful as a head coach at stops at Fresno State and Washington across the 2020-23 season with a 37-9 overall record. He went 3-3 his first year at Fresno State during a shortened season in 2020 but has won at least 9 games in his 3 other seasons as an FBS head coach.

With the Huskies, DeBoer is 25-3 overall with a 2-1 record in the postseason, the lone postseason loss coming to Michigan in this year’s CFP National Championship Game. DeBoer also shined as a head coach at the NAIA level during a 6-year run at Sioux Falls that included 3 NAIA Championships.

DeBoer’s lack of ties to the southeast could be concerning for Alabama, but there’s no denying DeBoer knows how to coach and build a program.