As the Alabama Crimson Tide prepare for the rival Auburn Tigers ahead of Saturday’s Iron Bowl, the team received a bit of disconcerting news.
A win over Auburn will punch the Tide’s ticket to the SEC Championship Game and possibly lock them into a spot in the 12-team College Football Playoff.
Alabama boasts a top-25 scoring offense (33.8 points per game) that also ranks ninth in passing (292.5 yards per game) and averages 415.7 yards of total offense per contest, and that success could lead to the team losing one of its key offensive staffers to a promotion with another team.
According to Matt Zentiz of CBS Sports, Crimson Tide co-offensive coordinator KaMarcus Shephard is a top candidate to land a head-coaching job in the Pac-12.
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“Oregon State is targeting Alabama co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach JaMarcus Shephard to be its new head coach, sources tell @CBSSports,” Zenitz wrote on X.
The 42-year-old Shephard has been with Alabama since 2024, where he’s served as wide receivers coach, co-offensive coordinator, and assistant head coach to Kalen DeBoer.
Under his guidance, junior quarterback Ty Simpson is enjoying a breakout season, passing for 2,934 yards, 22 touchdowns and just four interceptions. He ranks 13th in the country in passing yards and 20th in touchdowns, and he’s among a handful of favorites for the Heisman Trophy.
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Shephard’s work with Simpson has also helped put him in the discussion to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL draft.
His resume also boasts an assistant head coach/pass-game coordinator role with Washington during it’s national championship runner-up finish in 2023, and he spent five years at Purdue before that as the pass-game coordinator and co-offensive coordinator for the Boilermakers.
Shephard is expected to replace Trent Bray, who was fired back in October after an 0-7 start. He compiled a 5-14 record in two seasons with the Beavers.
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