Alabama Football looks to be losing a key offensive coach from Kalen DeBoer’s staff. According to a report from ESPN’s Pete Thamel on Friday, Oregon State is hiring Alabama co-offensive coordinator JaMarcus Shephard to fill its head coaching vacancy.
In addition to his role as the co-offensive coordinator on DeBoer’s staff, Shephard is also the assistant head coach and the wide receivers coach, who has worked closely with players such as Ryan Williams and Germie Bernard.
Shephard first linked up with DeBoer when he took the head coach position at Washington before the 2022 football season. He served as the Huskies’ passing game coordinator, assistant head coach, and wide receivers coach in their two years there before moving to Tuscaloosa with DeBoer before the 2024 season. Shephard, a trusted assistant under DeBoer, was promoted to the co-OC when the duo moved to the SEC with the Crimson Tide.
Shephard also spent time working under Mike Leach at Washington State in 2016 and under Jeff Brohm as Purdue’s passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach from 2017 to 2021.
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Tennessee defeated Alabama in 2024, 24-17, with Shephard’s offensive unit racking up 314 total yards of offense under quarterback Jalen Milroe. Then, in 2025, he helped the Crimson Tide pick up a 37-20 win over Tennessee with 373 yards of offense under quarterback Ty Simpson.
Oregon State fired head coach Trent Bray in mid-October with a record of 5-14. He was in his second season with the Beavers. Thamel’s report states that Shephard has agreed to a five-year deal with Oregon State.
From an SEC perspective, it’ll be interesting to see what Alabama does to replace one of DeBoer’s most trusted names on his staff moving forward.
