Blue bloods have frequently come calling for Alabama's Nate Oats throughout his highly successful tenure in Tuscaloosa. With four straight trips to the Sweet 16, which includes the program's first berth in the Final Four in 2024, Oats has pushed himself into the conversation among the elite coaches in college basketball.
Alabama is not a blue blood in basketball and is certainly not operating with the same war chest as some other programs around the country. That fact has led some to speculate that Oats, who is hell-bent on winning a national title with the Crimson Tide, might look for a program where doing so would be considerably easier.
Alabama fended off Kentucky two years ago in the midst of the Tide's run to the Final Four, getting an extension and increased buyout on the books. With blue bloods like North Carolina open this offseason, Greg Byrne moved quickly to lock down another extension and buyout increase with Oats this offseason.
Oats signed a contract extension with Alabama back in April, a move that increased his buyout figure to $15 million between now and the end of March 2027. That looks even more important now after the bombshell news on Monday that Michigan head coach Dusty May will be leaving the Wolverines to accept the head coaching job with the NBA's Dallas Mavericks:
NEWS: Michigan coach Dusty May is finalizing a deal to take the Dallas Mavericks head coaching job, sources tell me @shams and @AdamSchefter. May led Michigan basketball to the national title in April. The allure of coaching Cooper Flagg as a linchpin piece helped draw him. pic.twitter.com/nnEZplL5BG
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) June 22, 2026
Alabama's Nate Oats extension looks even smarter with Michigan job opening
You don't have to squint too much to connect the dots between Michigan and Oats.
Oats spent 11 years coaching high school basketball in Michigan at Romulus High School. He's originally from Wisconsin, spending most of his life in the Midwest before he joined Bobby Hurley's staff at Buffalo in 2015.
Oats has been vocal about his love for Alabama and the South in general, but a return closer to his roots has always been a concern for Crimson Tide fans. That's especially true with a program like Michigan, which just won the National Championship two months ago.
Realistically, Oats following the path that May is taking has always been the biggest - and most realistic - concern. Oats is a competitor who would seemingly be intrigued by testing his skill and his system at the highest level of basketball. Alabama fans would accept that trade if he brings home the program's first national title.
Losing a coach this late in the game would be devastating. Under the new Transfer Portal rules, a 15-day portal window opens five days after you hire a new coach. If Oats left Alabama, the Crimson Tide could conceivably lose its entire roster with little talent left available in the portal to fill all the holes.
That's something Michigan is going to have to face with May's decision to make the NBA move.
Oats' $15 million buyout likely takes him out of contention for the Wolverines' job. Who knows if he would have had any real interest anyway, or if Michigan would have had an interest in him. But Byrne's forward-thinking work to get a deal done with Oats likely prevents any real conversation from ever starting.
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