Kalen DeBoer is leading Alabama to the cusp of something big. Well, it might not be as magnanimous as Nick Saban but for someone who mustered up the courage to take up the job at Crimson Tide. It was a legacy of 17 years built by ‘the best coach in CFB history’, people. Kalen DeBoer came in with just about 9 years of experience as a head coach in universities like Sioux Falls, Fresno State, and Washington; places where the pressure and expectations were not as intense as Alabama. Despite knowing all this, DeBoer took up the challenge and has been proving himself since.

Hence, Nick Kelly, the award-winning writer of Tuscaloosa News, had a perfectly fair explanation of why he considers DeBoer accepting the challenge of Alabama’s role as “ballsy,” during his interview with Waaay Offsides Cotton. Per him, DeBoer’s dream had always been to make it to the top. Even if it was not as big as Nick Saban’s initially. “Kalen was the same guy who followed Bob Young,” Kelly mentioned, highlighting the head coach that Sioux Falls and South Dakota revere even today.

After all, he had given over 3 decades of his life in building that place from 1983 to 2004. It took him some trial and error when he initially made it twice as the conference champions in 1988 and 1999. After that, he took his final 4 years before striking it big. Starting from 1994, there hasn’t been a single year for Young until he retired (except 2000) where Sioux Falls had not been the conference champions.

They even became the NCAA Division II National Champions under his reign in 1996. Of course, DeBoer planned to emulate the mightiest head coach in Division II. Per Kelly, “People around Sioux Falls and around South Dakota, they talk about Bob Young like he is Nick Saban in terms of what he accomplished.” The best part? Kalen DeBoer took over the program right after Young in 2005. Precisely why he is no stranger to taking over some big shoes. Even if they are of ‘the best CFB coach to ever exist’. Looking at the developments in Alabama, recruiting-wise and culture-building-wise, Kalen DeBoer is doing fairly well.

Kalen DeBoer so far in Alabama

Kalen DeBoer is bringing in a good volume of players right from his first off-season, upholding the standard for Alabama that Nick Saban set. There have been some disapprovals from analysts like Brian Smith who thinks, “some recruitments were great, some others not as great.” 

Per him, DeBoer has lowered the standard of recruiting from only five-star talents and exceptional 4-star talents from Nick Saban’s time to bring in even three-star talents. Now how much of this will work out? We only know in the regular season.

What is known, however, is that DeBoer has all the freedom from Nick Saban to mold Crimson Tide the way he likes. During his interview with Jim Rome, DeBoer opened up about Nick Saban being “very respectful and amazing,” when he is trying to shape Alabama his way.