Just before the Alabama Crimson Tide faced the Auburn Tigers in the Iron Bowl, co-offensive coordinator JaMarcus Shephard accepted the Oregon State head-coaching position.
It was definitely a great opportunity for Shephard, who has never been a head coach before and will get the chance to turn around a reeling program in Corvallis.
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Of course, the timing was awkward for Alabama, which is preparing for the SEC Championship Game against the Georgia Bulldogs and then, more than likely, the College Football Playoff.
So, what does head coach Kalen DeBoer think, and what will Shephard’s role in Tuscaloosa be in the meantime? DeBoer explained it all this week.
“Yeah, he really wants to be a part of everything that we do throughout,” DeBoer said, via Daniel Hager of On 3. “There’s a couple things here right now early in the week that he’s got to be part as far as obligations with kind of getting things started there with his opportunity at Oregon State, which we’re super excited for. We celebrated it actually on Friday morning. He’s a guy that pours everything into this program.”
Shephard will at least remain with the Crimson Tide through their matchup against Georgia, but his status for the College Football Playoff remains in question.
The 42-year-old arrived at Alabama in 2024 and took the co-offensive coordinator job alongside of Nick Sheridan. Shephard has also been serving as the team’s wide receivers coach and as an assistant head coach. He had previously been serving as passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach under DeBoer at Washington.
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The Crimson Tide are 10-2 on the season and have gone 7-1 in the SEC, with their only conference loss coming at the hands of the Oklahoma Sooners last month.
Alabama is ranked 10th in the AP top 25 poll, and based on its resume, it would be shocking if it were left out of the CFP, even if it loses to Georgia this Saturday.
For more on the NCAA, head to Newsweek Sports.