‘Can’t Argue With the Results,’ ‘Crazy Stat’ — CFB Fans Divided Over Wild Nick Saban-Kalen DeBoer Comparison
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Kalen DeBoer has spent three years living under a Nick Saban-sized microscope at Alabama. Saturday gave the internet one number that made the comparison even harder to avoid.
The Crimson Tide’s 56-23 demolition of No. 16 Mississippi State pushed DeBoer to 25-8 through his first 33 games in Tuscaloosa. That is the exact record Saban carried through his first 33 games at Alabama.
Fans Split Over What the 25-8 Comparison Actually Means
“Crazy stat 😳,”one fan wrote.
Another fan had a pretty simple response to DeBoer’s record.
“I can’t argue with results,”one fan added.
One reaction was even more willing to give DeBoer his flowers.
“Sounds like a good coach to me,”another fan wrote.
The number is real. Saban went 7-6 in 2007, 12-2 in 2008 and opened 2009 with six straight wins, putting him at 25-8 after 33 games. DeBoer went 9-4 in his first Alabama season, 11-4 last year and has started 2026 at 5-0.
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Plenty of fans still wanted a giant asterisk attached to the comparison.
“Well not sure that’s a flex for DeBoer. He took over a loaded bama team from Saban. Saban took over a tire fire. But, a lot of football programs would like to have a 25-8 record after 33 games,”one fan wrote.
Nick Saban’s Starting Point Becomes the Entire Argument
Another reaction made the same point with considerably more color.
“Clickbait … just an absolute horrible comparison … Saban inherited a Pinto … DeBoer inherited a Ferrari,”one fan wrote.
There is some obvious context behind that argument. Saban arrived after Alabama went 6-7 in 2006. DeBoer took over a team coming off a 12-2 season, an SEC championship and a College Football Playoff appearance.
That does not make DeBoer’s 25 wins disappear. Alabama went 9-4 in 2024, reached the playoff last season and now has its first 5-0 start of his tenure.
Saturday’s 33-point road win over a ranked Mississippi State team was also its loudest result yet this fall.
PFN currently lists Alabama at 85.7, No. 14 nationally, inOffense Impact.
The Saban shadow has followed DeBoer through nearly every rough stretch, including plenty ofquestions about the comparison.
Now DeBoer has a Saban stat of his own.
Nobody is confusing 25-8 with six national championships. It is still one hell of a number to drop into an Alabama argument.
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.
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