Alabama was in shambles with the news of their long-time coach, Nick Saban, retiring. That paired with Nick Saban’s choice of making Kalen DeBoer the successor of his legacy birthed many speculations that led to what can be called chaotic panic in the varsity program. 23 players had committed to Alabama thinking that Nick Saban would be their head coach. DeBoer had to deal with the repercussions of this as well. Per the transfer portal rules, the players of the team that undergo a head coach change are eligible to enter the transfer portal for the next 30 days.

When the initial announcement of DeBoer taking over the head coaching role, it set forth a wave of early panic among the players, with two players: Julian Sand and Jameer Grimsley entering the transfer portal. However, as soon as he established himself as the head coach of the team, DeBoer was successful in winning over the hearts and minds of players at Alabama, the fresh faces and the existing players alike. Touchdown Alabama’s Stephen M. Smith explained the odds, stating, “When Saban initially retired, he only lost two of those 23 to the portal. So Kalen DeBoer to come in here and literally do a juggling act of keeping 21 guys, that’s 92% of your 2024 class he kept in-house.”

This is the first milestone that DeBoer successfully achieved as the head coach, especially when he had to fill in the shoes of the legendary Nick Saban. Instilling faith in the players who have coached under Coach Saban is a big job. While the first positive milestone might have given a good boost to DeBoer, his second hit was a rather negative one which he has yet to address.

Kalen DeBoer takes a major hit

While the players decided to stay back with DeBoer, his staff members didn’t. Taking Nick Saban’s place was as tough as it was for DeBoer. Now he has to deal with this without the team’s staff right hand, Ryan Grubb. The offensive coordinator of Crimson Tide till 2023 is set to join the Seattle Seahawks as their offensive coordinator. It would be a major defining event in DeBoer’s career, as the two have been confidants for the past 12 years, across 4 different schools.

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To bring in more bad news, Gruff is also taking Alabama offensive line coach Scott Huff with him to the Seahawks, per ESPN. This leaves DeBoer with 2 vacant positions to fill and two of his trusted staff members leaving the team. Now, the next move of DeBoer will define his impression of his new team.

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