The uptick in buzz around Kane Wommack should have Alabama fans concerned

The buzz continues to pick up around Kane Wommack and the Arkansas head coaching job. The Alabama defensive coordinator is believed to be one of the now just three candidates for the Razorback job.

Many believed North Texas head coach Eric Morris was the leading candidate for a while, but everything changed on Tuesday with Morris accepting the head coaching job at Oklahoma State. That leaves Arkansas with what is believed to be a three-man field: Memphis' Ryan Silverfield, USF's Alex Golesh, and Wommack.

Wommack himself was mum about potential interest in head coaching vacancies when he was asked about them during his Monday press conference this week. He preferred to keep the focus where it should be this week: on the Iron Bowl.

Alabama fans may not have always appreciated Wommack during his two-year stint as defensive coordinator in Tuscaloosa, but they've come around over the last couple of months. After an uninspiring start in Tallahassee, Wommack has turned things around, and now the Crimson Tide ranks as the No. 1 total defense in the SEC this season.

They've been playing lights-out football and keeping Alabama in games - or outright winning them - while the offense has sputtered in recent weeks.

It's obvious why a program like Arkansas would be interested in Wommack. He has proven head coaching experience at South Alabama. He has coordinated an elite defense two years in a row in the SEC now. He graduated high school in Fayetteville while his Dad was on the Arkansas staff and played the first two years of his college football career with the Razorbacks.

There will likely be a resolution on the Arkansas job soon. We are entering the final weekend of the regular season, and in the aftermath of it, we will more than likely find out whether or not Wommack is heading to Fayetteville.

Kane Wommack is still laser-focused on Alabama's defense, according to Tim Keenan

If you are worried about any potential distractions from the task at hand, don't be. Wommack is still dialed in. We don't have to worry about a 2016 Lane Kiffin situation that he is currently recreating in Oxford for all to see.

Wommack is focused on the task at hand, and that's this weekend's Iron Bowl:

If Alabama can beat Auburn on Saturday, it will be interesting to see if the process of Arkansas naming a coach gets delayed another week. Because a win at Jordan-Hare on Saturday means the Crimson Tide has another game the following week to prepare for that could ultimately decide its playoff fate.

It no longer feels like a guarantee that just making the SEC Championship Game would be enough to get them into the playoff. It should be, but it's far from a certainty.

If Arkansas wants Wommack, they might have to play the waiting game for longer than they would prefer.