“It’s big shoes to fill” and that is a fact. Nick Saban will always be regarded as the best in the SEC and to go out there and coach his team? Kalen DeBoer has a lot of eyes on him in that regard. That is not all. DeBoer has made a ton of changes to the team, from switching practice times to becoming a more offense-focused team. Which has caused some people to raise more questions. So, how will things pan out for the Crimson Tide this season? Well, Michael Borkey from SportsTalk Mississippi shared his take on the same.

On July 20th, SportsTalk Mississippi brought up an amazing question: “What do you see the immediate future of Alabama football without Nick Saban being?” The immediate response to this was quite expected, “It’s big shoes to fill the expectations are ridiculous. Uh, and there’s probably a lot of coaches out there. That we’re like, that’s a crazy job to take, right? You’re not talking to Kalen DeBoer about that. I’ve visited, Alabama, back in April and obviously, it’s a lot different there, right? Um, Kalen is like, the opposite of Nick.” It would be an understatement to say that DeBoer has changed Alabama. From switching practice times to morning to changing the entire playing strategy of the team from defensive to offense-focused. That man alone has also completely changed the recruitment for the team. With multiple star hires and a new offense-focused lineup. 

Nick Saban has always been someone with a lot of discipline, but that has all changed. “The atmosphere in the facility, more media-like, open, right? Everything’s a little more open, everybody’s talking a little more, “ SportsTalk Mississippi covered. The perfect example of this would be when Jalen Milroe compared Saban with DeBoer. “At practice, I threw a really good ball. I was looking at the sideline to get the next play, the next signal and Coach DeBoer came up to me and was like ‘Hey what happened’, and I was like what do you mean what happened?… Coach I was worried about the next play and he was like ‘I want you to celebrate, I want you to be excited, that was a really good pass,” Milroe mentioned regarding DeBoer’s coaching style. This is starkly different from how Saban’s detail-oriented and strict nature in the field.

It is true that Crimson Tide fans have major expectations from DeBoer and what he does with the team will also be scrutinized. Joel Klatt put it perfectly on The Next Round Live. “Kalen is competitively proficient. This guy wins at an insanely high level everywhere. Alabama has the 2 best offensive lines in the country,” he said. All this high praise comes with its price, so will DeBoer be able to take up the “next Nick Saban” title and handle the expectations, or will someone else beat him to it?

Kalen DeBoer vs. the other side

Kirby Smart and Steve Sarkisian, are two amazing HCs mentored by Nick Saban himself. Smart takes from Saban’s book itself, with a full defense-focused team and Sarkisian on the other hand has managed to craft the perfect balance between offense and defense. Both coaches have also received big praise from Nick. “I think Texas, if their defense comes through. So I really like Texas. I think Georgia’s got a really good team,” Saban said when he was asked about which team he thinks would clash at the SEC championship.

So will DeBoer be able to stand up and face it all? Saban has some faith. “I believe in our Alabama team. I believe in Jalen Milroe,” he had said. However, only the 2024 season will tell if all the changes that Kalen DeBoer has made to the team finally pay off or not.