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.

Alabama football will be back in the College Football Playoff next year

Alabama is used to making the College Football Playoff, and that isn't going to change now that Saban is gone. Why? Because if DeBoer can have the success that he had at Fresno State and Washington, he can replicate that success with the Crimson Tide. After the dynasty that Saban built, it would take a lot for that fall. The resources are there for DeBoer, and the resources at Alabama are a lot better than they are at Fresno State and Washington.

Also, next season, the College Football Playoff will be expanding to 12 teams. DeBoer is taking over a team that is still loaded with Saban's players, and the talent will 100% be there again next season. It will genuinely be difficult for DeBoer to not take that team to a 12-team playoff. Once he gets them in one time, it will continue to build momentum, and it will help the team with recruiting. Alabama is not going to take a step back.

College football isn't going to look the same without Nick Saban on the sidelines coaching the Alabama football team, but the Crimson Tide will make things feel normal with the way they play on the football field. Kalen DeBoer is one of the hottest names in the college football world, and the Crimson Tide were able to take him away from Washington. This was a great hire by Alabama. They got it done quickly, and they got one of the best current coaches in the country. Who knows for sure if it will work out, but it seems like a great move by Alabama.