With the retirement of legendary coach Nick Saban and hiring of Kalen DeBoer, the Alabama football program is experiencing change for the first time in a while.
In Tuscaloosa, Saban proved to be the greatest college football coach of his generation and possibly of all time. But after 50 years of coaching, Saban, 72, decided to finally retire and leave behind coaching. That created some uncertainty about how — or even if — the Crimson Tide would be able to adapt in a post-Saban world.
After a short yet rumor-filled coaching search, Alabama's leadership hired DeBoer, who reached the national championship game in just his second season as Washington's head coach. A three-time national champion at the NAIA level, DeBoer sports a career head coaching record of 104-12 and success at various levels and places throughout the country.
But taking over for a legend like Saban at a perennial contender program like Alabama is a completely different task than DeBoer has ever tackled before. Questions about how much DeBoer would change or keep the same from Saban's championship formula immediately surfaced, and it appears we know at least some of the things DeBoer has decided to tweak, thanks to Kennington Smith III of The Athletic.
“Practices have been moved to mornings and now have music,” Smith wrote. “Assistant coaches regularly are made available to media, DeBoer actively uses social media accounts, and the No. 0 will be worn for the first time this fall. The changes might seem minor, but it’s a stark contrast from the Saban era.
Smith said the “energy” in the Crimson Tide program is “different,” but not necessarily any better or worse. Some things, however, aren't different at all from Saban's tenure.
“Though the changes are highlighted, certain old elements remain, including the famed Fourth Quarter offseason conditioning program and several coveted off-field staffers from administration to recruiting to coaches, who were highlighted by the Alabama players in their early meetings with DeBoer,” Smith wrote.
Kalen DeBoer takes over for Nick Saban at Alabama
Kalen DeBoer has relatively little experience as an FBS coach. He spent two seasons at Fresno State and two seasons at Washington, compared to Saban's 11 years of FBS head coaching experience (Toledo, Michigan State, and LSU) by the time he was hired by Alabama.
But DeBoer's success cannot be argued. The South Dakota native went 67-3 as the head coach of Sioux Falls, where he won three NAIA national titles in five seasons. He then embarked on a decade-long journey as an assistant coach, taking him from Southern Illinois to Eastern Michigan to Fresno State to Indiana.
At his introductory press conference in January, DeBoer, who signed an eight-year contract that will pay him more than $10 million per year to coach the Crimson Tide, said he has high goals at Alabama.
“Our goals? To win the SEC and a national championship,” DeBoer said. “How are we going to do that? We're going to do that with class, with integrity and with academic excellence.”
DeBoer, who left behind what appeared to be a national title contender in Washington, said Alabama is a great place for him because of the work Saban already did.
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