An atomic cannonball dropped in the college swimming world this week. Bob Bowman, coach of the US men's Olympic swim team from 2004-16 and the man most credited with developing 23-time Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps, won the men's swimming and diving national championship at Arizona State on Saturday, then took the Texas job on Monday.
He'll replace Eddie Reese, winner 15 national championships with the Longhorns, who retired for a second time and for good after the season.
"I am honored and tremendously excited to lead the most storied program in collegiate swimming and diving history, and I am fortunate to build on the greatness that Coach has established," Bowman said. "It's been a dream of mine since I was a young coach and to have it be fulfilled is an amazing thing."
With a characteristic flourish, Texas AD Chris Del Conte said he was "Buford T. Justice in hot pursuit" once he found out Bowman had interest in the job.
— Pat Forde (@ByPatForde) April 2, 2024
The seismic event sparked a thought bubble here in our neck of the woods: Could the same ever happen in football?
Well, we nearly got to see it happen this past January.
For one, a title-winning coach leaving for another job isn't as rare as one might think. It's happened 11 times since 1950 (and this doesn't count coaches who won titles, retired or were let go, and then returned to the game later, a la Lou Holtz, Barry Switzer and Mack Brown).
Coaches Who Won National Titles, Then (Eventually) Took Other Jobs
Jim Tatum: Maryland (1951) > North Carolina
Paul Dietzel: LSU (1959) > Army
John McKay: USC (1962, '67, '72, '74) > Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Johnny Majors: Pitt (1976) > Tennessee
Jimmy Johnson: Miami (1987) > Dallas Cowboys
Dennis Erickson: Miami (1989, '91) > Seattle Seahawks
Bobby Ross: Georgia Tech (1991) > San Diego Chargers
Steve Spurrier: Florida (1996) > Washington Redskins
Pete Carroll: USC (2003, '04) > Seattle Seahawks
Jimbo Fisher: Florida State (2013) > Texas A&M
Jim Harbaugh: Michigan (2023) > Los Angeles Chargers
Of the 11, four left for other college jobs, and three left immediately after winning titles. Johnny Majors remains the only coach to win a college national title, then leave immediately for another college job. Two caveats apply: that was a different era, long before big money flowed to coaches and players, and Tennessee was Majors's alma mater.
That brings us to this year, a title game where neither coach was still in the same job three weeks later. The industry consensus heading into the Jan. 8 title tilt between Michigan and Washington was that Harbaugh was likely coaching his last game with the Wolverines win or lose, but no one could've had any idea Kalen DeBoer was doing the same.
Nick Saban did not announce his retirement until roughly 48 hours later.
But what if the events that January night in Houston had gone differently? If Washington beats Michigan, does DeBoer still leave?
One thing is certain: Alabama would've still pursued DeBoer, even with a new piece of jewelry on his finger. "We're obviously thrilled that Coach DeBoer is our coach," Alabama AD Greg Byrne told FootballScoop. "We tried to be prepared to put ourselves in the best position for him to be the coach at Alabama."
While acknowledging the obvious that an alternate reality version of DeBoer could've known how he would've responded to a hypothetical Washington national championship, the feeling here and among my esteemed Twitter followers is that, yes, DeBoer still would've taken the Bama job even with a victory over Michigan.
Though the circumstances would've been different, the underlying fundamentals were still the same:
-- Alabama still could've offered more money. Then-Washington AD Troy Dannen told the Seattle Times that his highest offer to DeBoer was $9.4 million. DeBoer's salary at Alabama will start at $10 million. Washington surely would've offered more if fresh off a national title, but Alabama has deeper pockets: even at $10 million, DeBoer is still making $1 million and change less than Saban's 2023 salary.
-- Alabama is still closer to more players. This goes without saying and requires no explanation.
-- The time was still right for DeBoer to cash in on his Washington run. The Huskies' title run was years in the making. Only one starter in the championship game left high school after 2020. Four starters were blue-chip recruits, and 14 were 3-stars or walk-ons. Don't get it twisted: DeBoer could've continued winning at Washington, but it's not a place that compete for national championships year in and year out. See Point 2.
And so while the consensus is that the end result is likely the same even if the national championship outcome was flipped, the discourse around the move would've shifted dramatically.
In luring the coach of the reigning national champions, Alabama would've pulled the ultimate power move and announced that its place among the college football hierarchy hadn't budged even with Saban's retirement. On the flip side, the move would've reinforced that, even though Washington has secured its spot on the life raft with its Big Ten move, the line of demarcation between the "Haves" and "Have Nots" is not a straight one drawn cleanly across conference lines. Even within the Power 2, there are "Haves" and "Have Mores."
The irony here is that Kalen DeBoer would be the same coach had Washington beaten Michigan.But our reaction and analysis to his move would've been totally different.