Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer has been one of the most scrutinized coaches in college football since he succeeded the legendary Nick Saban in 2024. DeBoer has had to deal with the comparisons with Saban, who established the Crimson Tide as college football’s foremost dynasty during his 17-year tenure in Tuscaloosa.
After his retirement, Saban became an analyst on ESPN’s “College GameDay” show, while maintaining an advisory role at Alabama, where he has an office at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
David Ubben Details the Dynamic Between Kalen DeBoer and Nick Saban
During Monday’s segment of the “Bunch Formation” podcast, analyst David Ubben spoke about the awkward dynamic that Saban’s continued presence in Tuscaloosa creates for DeBoer.
“I think Kalen DeBoer likes his team,” Ubben said. “He is extremely guarded about what he says about Nick Saban. I think it’s a weird spot, because you do have to be really careful about every single word that you say about Nick Saban. You know that they view Nick Saban in this crazy sphere, there’s a literal statue there.
“You go to restaurants in town and there’s paintings of him putting his hands on people’s foreheads and healing them. But the experience of trying to follow that, when everything around the sport is changing, Saban is on GameDay every Saturday talking about your team. I don’t blame DeBoer for not wanting to talk about what that experience is like.”
DeBoer cut a niche for himself at the helm of the Washington Huskies, leading them to the national championship game in his last season in charge before taking the Alabama job. He was heavily criticized when the Crimson Tide missed out on the SEC championship game and a spot in the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff in his first season.
Last season, DeBoer’s Alabama started the season with a demoralizing loss to the Florida State Seminoles before embarking on an eight-game winning run.
Ultimately, the Crimson Tide were blown out by the Georgia Bulldogs in the SEC championship game and the Indiana Hoosiers in the Rose Bowl to put DeBoer firmly in the hot seat.
Ahead of a pivotal third season in charge of the Crimson Tide, DeBoer has critical issues to address, including a horrid run game that averaged 104.1 yards per game, which was the second-lowest in the SEC.
This aspect dampened the Crimson Tide’s offensive potency, earning them a lowly PFSN College Offense Impact score of 81.7, good for No. 8 in the conference and a key area of focus for DeBoer ahead of next season.
