Kalen DeBoer denies any interest in Penn State job, 'extremely happy' at Alabama

The Penn State coaching search led to dead end after dead end as candidates spurned the Nittany Lions' interest. Another high-profile option set the record straight about his desire (or lack thereof) to take the job. Alabama's Kalen DeBoer had his name floated as a potential target for one of the Big Ten's top positions, but he made it clear ahead of the SEC Championship Game that he has no ties to Penn State nor any interest in leaving Tuscaloosa.

The list of candidates who passed on the opportunity to lead the Nittany Lions is long and seems to grow by the day. Eight coaches with purported links to the job instead signed contract extensions with their current schools or are in discussions to do so. DeBoer makes it nine to shut down interest in the position.

"We are extremely happy here," DeBoer said. "Love the challenge, love the grind, love this place. There's never been any link. There's never been any conversation. There's never been any interest either way. So I'm glad we could put that to bed right now."

While DeBoer drew scrutiny at times throughout the first two years of his Alabama tenure, he has the program back on track to compete for championships and would have to halt his positive momentum to take another job. Arguing that Penn State is a more premier destination than Alabama in the first place also takes some twisting of reality.

DeBoer has the Crimson Tide one win away from an SEC championship and a berth in the College Football Playoff, potentially as a top-four seed. He has already won more games this year (10) than last (nine) and is beginning to deliver on the lofty expectations that come with the Alabama job. An exit from this ideal of a situation would have made more sense if the Crimson Tide underwhelmed in Year 2, but instead, it is squarely among the most elite teams in college football.

With DeBoer off the table for Penn State -- and according to himself, never on the table to begin with -- options are dwindling. The Nittany Lions have been more adept thus far at earning opposing coaches raises at their current schools than hiring one away. Athletic director Pat Kraft may eventually be pressured into elevating interim coach Terry Smith to the permanent job if he cannot land a suitable hire from outside his own building.

The ramifications of the botched coaching search have already begun to manifest. Penn State lost more than 20 commitments on the recruiting trail since it fired James Franklin, and it secured just two prospects on Signing Day to complete one of the worst talent acquisition cycles by a Power Four program in the modern era.