Report: Alabama QBs Coach to be Hired by Michigan State as Offensive Coordinator

Nick Sheridan has been in the Alabama program for the past two seasons, joining Kalen DeBoer after working with him at Washington.

Sep 7, 2024; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Alabama offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Nick Sheridan watches his quarterbacks warm up at Bryant-Denny Stadium before a game against the South Florida Bulls. Mandatory Credit: Gary Cosby Jr.-Imagn Images | Gary Cosby Jr.-Imagn Images

Alabama co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Nick Sheridan is expected to be the next offensive coordinator at Michigan State on new coach Pat Fitzgerald's staff. The news was first reported by CBS Sports. Sheridan joined the Crimson Tide program in 2024 along with Kalen DeBoer.

Sheridan had been the tight ends coach at Washington. Upon his arrival in Tuscaloosa, he assumed offensive coordinator duties after Ryan Grubb became the Seattle Seahawks' offensive coordinator. Grubb returned to Alabama earlier this year as the offensive coordinator, but Sheridan retained his role as the team's quarterbacks coach. He had initially been slated to be the Crimson Tide's tight ends coach before Grubb's move.

The Crimson Tide had a quarterback competition this offseason following Jalen Milroe's departure for the NFL ranks, where he now plays for the Seahawks. Redshirt junior Ty Simpson ended up winning the position battle, but Sheridan has actually known backup Austin Mack longer, since Mack's first year at Washington aligned with Sheridan's last.

Michigan State parted ways with former head coach Jonathan Smith late last month. Fitzgerald, formerly at Northwestern, was officially hired the next day. Sheridan played college football at Michigan, and has coached in the Big Ten before. When DeBoer was Indiana's offensive coordinator in 2019, Sheridan was the Hoosiers' tight ends coach.

No. 9 Alabama (11-3) will face No. 1 Indiana in the Rose Bowl on New Year's Day. The Crimson Tide defeated No. 8 Oklahoma 34-24 on Friday night in Norman to become the first team to ever win a road game in the College Football Playoff.

Simpson had never been a starter in college prior to this year and has taken steps forward over the course of the campaign, even though the offense hadn't been playing especially well in the weeks prior to Friday night's game. Sheridan has a long history of working with FBS quarterbacks, having previously coached quarterbacks at Western Kentucky and South Florida before his stints at Indiana and Alabama.

Alabama's 2025 coaching staff has already experienced turnover due to its members filling other job openings. Former wide receivers coach JaMarcus Shephard was hired in November as the new head coach at Oregon State, the job Smith left in 2023 to take over the Spartans' program. Shephard was the wide receivers coach on Washington's staff, working with Sheridan and DeBoer, when the Huskies made the national title game two seasons ago.