With great power comes great responsibility. Following Nick Saban’s retirement in January 2024, Kalen DeBoer brings a wealth of experience and winning potential to the Alabama Crimson Tide. DeBoer’s exceptional track record made him the right person to take over coach Saban’s legacy. Yet, he is finding it challenging to avoid the consequences of comparisons and expectations.

DeBoer has a coaching record of 104-12 and is a star recruit for Alabama. Before coaching at Washington, Kalen was head coach at Fresno State from 2020 to 2021, achieving a 12-2 record against top-25 teams and securing three National championships. In a mere seven months, Kalen DeBoer has demonstrated that Alabama can compete in recruiting with any football program nationwide, though he falls short of the high standards set by Nick Saban. 

Kalen DeBoer is aiming big for the Crimson Tides

The Crimson Tide under the guidance of Kalen DeBoer will target to enter top team recruiting rankings attracting new talents for the team. On August 21, @The Next Round also confirmed this sharing a clip of a panel discussion on Twitter saying how Kalen DeBoer is taking over an elite program with better recruits than he could in Washington “The sky’s the limit with this guy” said @TheLanceTaylor co-host of the show. 

The host believes he is the best hire for the Tides as he is a developer seeing what he did for Indiana programs like Eastern Michigan, Southern Illinois, Sioux Falls, and Washington ending up getting three National championships, “DeBoer is the guy that will be much more successful by bringing high school talent in and developing them” the host also added how the new transfer portal era could help getting more fresh talent in the team and ending up “winning a national title over the next 2 years”.

Kalen DeBoer is not waiting for any right moment as the recruiting process has already started shaping with four-star running back Akylin Dear, from Quitman High School in Mississippi, announcing his commitment to Alabama’s 2025 class. He was attracted by Kalen’s impressive reputation for developing running backs and producing NFL-caliber candidates. Still, if you doubt DeBoer’s expertise, the question is on your understanding. 

Depth Chart Predictions for the Alabama Crimson Tide

Starting off as a first-year coach is not an easy nut to crack, especially with losing players like RB Jase McClellan and Roydell Williams to the NFL and transfer portal. Kalen DeBoer is using fall camp training to establish the team’s football depth chart before the actual match schedule begins. 

Alabama football is entering a new era of football under head coach Kalen DeBoer, and the team is all set for the College Football Playoff. With the No.5 ranking in the preseason AP Poll it’s kind of a low-high moment as it’s their lowest ranking since 2009. But DeBoer is a proven winner in terms of team alignment with players like QB Jalen Milroe, RB Justice Haynes and junior Jam Miller, LB Deontae Lawson, and Quandarrius Robinson if this team structure works well it could become an undefeatable one. Well it will be interesting to witness how this team works under our star coach Kalen DeBoer and whether it will be a successful season or not for the Tides. What are your thoughts on it? Do let us know in the comments!