The college football season came to a close earlier this week when the Michigan football team defeated Washington to win the national title. One week before that game, Michigan and Alabama football battled things out in the Rose Bowl College Football Semifinal for a spot in the national title game. It was another fantastic edition of the bowl game with the richest history, and the Wolverines squeaked out an overtime victory against the Crimson Tide. What we didn't know at the time, however, was that it would be the last game that Alabama head coach Nick Saban would coach. News broke on Wednesday that the college football legend was retiring, and now, the Crimson Tide are in need of a new head coach. Then on Friday, Alabama signed former Washington head coach Kalen DeBoer to be Saban's replacement.

Nick Saban is a college football legend. First of all, even though Alabama didn't win the national title this season, this might've been the most impressive coaching job that Saban has ever had. If you're a fan of the Crimson Tide, you might disagree because of all the national championship seasons that Saban had in his time with the program, but what he was able to do with this group and the turnaround that the team had was extremely impressive.

When Alabama lost to Texas football by double digits at home early in the season and then had to bench quarterback Jalen Milroe the following week at USF, everyone wrote the Crimson Tide off. They simply didn't look like a Nick Saban coached team, and they seemed destined to lose another game. They surely didn't look like a team that could knock off the two-time defending national champion Georgia Bulldogs. However, they just kept winning. The Crimson Tide took care of business week in and week out, and they eventually found themselves hoisting the SEC title trophy after knocking off the two-time defending national champion Georgia Bulldogs. That earned Alabama a spot in the College Football Playoff.

Obviously, the playoff didn't go as planned for Saban and Alabama as they fell in the Rose Bowl to Michigan, and the standard and expectation in Tuscaloosa is to win a national championship. However, if you're a Crimson Tide fan, take a step back for a minute. No matter what happens in your CFP semifinal game, it is very hard to be one of the only four teams to make the College Football Playoff. There's a reason why final fours are celebrated the way they are in college basketball. In college football, you can't lose more than one game, and sometimes even if you do lose one, your season is over. Think of all the fans that would be thrilled to have their team make the CFP just once even if it means they get blown out in the semifinal. You can't win em' all, and Alabama didn't win this year, but getting to the playoff is always something to be proud of, and Nick Saban had one of his most impressive appearances in his final season of coaching the game.

Now, Saban is gone, and it will be Kalen DeBoer's job to keep the dynasty going in Tuscaloosa. It is not going to be an easy job, and the pressure that DeBoer must feel to meet expectations has to be through the roof. However, Alabama football fans should be confident with this hire. DeBoer is simply a winner. He has won at every single place where he has been the coach. So far in his career, DeBoer has been the head coach at Fresno State and Washington. His record as a head coach is 104-12. He just took the Huskies to the national title game. He is a winner, and that likely isn't going to change at Alabama. Here are three predictions for his time in Tuscaloosa.

Alabama will make the College Football Playoff next season

Alabama is one of the best college football programs in the country, and they have high expectations every season. One of those expectations is to make the College Football Playoff every season. Next season, the College Football Playoff will be expanding to 12 teams, so meeting that expectation will be even more important. If the Crimson Tide don't finish in the top 12, it will be a major disappointment. They will meet that expectation next season. Kalen DeBoer just took Washington to the national title, and he will have a loaded team next year. Alabama will be in the playoff.

Alabama will win the SEC in the next three years

Making the College Football Playoff isn't the only expectation in Tuscaloosa. This fan base demands championships, and of them is an SEC title. The Crimson Tide just won the SEC this past season, and they are expected to compete for that championship every single season. The road will be a little bit tougher with the additions of Oklahoma and Texas, but right now, Alabama and Georgia are the teams to beat in the conference. Winning it two years in a row is difficult, but Alabama never goes a long time without winning one. In the next three years, DeBoer will win his first SEC title.

Alabama will win the National Championship in the next five years

Lastly, there is one more championship that is an expectation in Tuscaloosa. The great championship of them all, the national championship. The Crimson Tide are as good as any team in the country at winning them, and this fan base is currently going through their longest drought in a long time, and that drought is only three years. Saban was a master at winning national titles, and just because he's gone doesn't mean that the expectation of winning them is gone. Kalen DeBoer just went to the national title game with Washington, so he should be able to find a way to get the Crimson Tide there as well. It might take a little bit, but DeBoer will get Alabama back to the college football mountaintop within the next five seasons.