Nick Saban's Respect for Kalen DeBoer Says More Than Any Critic Ever Could
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For the better part of two years, it has felt like every conversation surrounding Alabama football has centered around what Kalen DeBoer isn't.
He's not Nick Saban.
He doesn't coach like Nick Saban.
He doesn't have Nick Saban's personality.
He doesn't carry himself the way Saban did on the sideline.
Every loss has been magnified. Every mistake has been dissected. Every decision has been compared to arguably the greatest coach in college football history.
But maybe Alabama fans should stop for a moment and pay attention to the one opinion that actually matters.
Nick Saban's.
Because if there's one person on the planet who truly understands what it takes to lead Alabama football, it's the man who spent 17 years building the greatest dynasty college football has ever seen.
And if Nick Saban continues to support Kalen DeBoer….maybe that's a sign Alabama fans should too.
One of my favorite moments from SEC Media Days this year wasn't even something that was said.
It was something that was seen.
As DeBoer stood behind the podium answering questions about his football team, Nick Saban sat just a short distance away watching him.
The cameras caught it for only a few moments, but it was enough for social media to do what social media always does. People tried to dissect every facial expression, every glance, every reaction, almost as if they could somehow read Saban's mind.
I saw something entirely different.
I saw respect.
Not because of one photograph. Because of everything Saban has said since the day he retired.
Despite the constant criticism surrounding Alabama's new head coach, Saban has never fueled it. He hasn't hinted that Alabama hired the wrong man. He hasn't suggested DeBoer is in over his head. He hasn't offered subtle criticism disguised as analysis. Instead, every time he's been asked about DeBoer, his response has been remarkably consistent.
Respect.
During a recent appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, Saban once again made that crystal clear.
"First of all, he knew what he was getting into," Saban said. "And I kind of have a lot of respect for him, knowing what the expectations are, knowing what the challenges would be. And in this day and age of football, to me, it's even harder when you take a job because they lost 26 players to the portal, so that's a whole bunch of guys to make up for. I think he's doing a really good job. Do I think it's an easy job? Hell no."
Read that quote again.
The greatest coach in college football history didn't simply say DeBoer was doing an acceptable job.
He said he has "a lot of respect" for him.
Those aren't empty words.
Nick Saban isn't someone who casually hands out praise. Throughout his career, respect was earned. It wasn't given because someone wore Alabama gear or stood on the same sideline.
So when Saban says he respects Kalen DeBoer, I listen.
Frankly, I think every Alabama fan should.
Because nobody understands the magnitude of this job better than Nick Saban. He knows what the expectations are. He knows the pressure. He knows what it's like to wake up every single day with a fan base expecting championships, not eventually, but immediately.
And here's the part that so many people seem to overlook.
Saban didn't hand DeBoer the same Alabama program he inherited in 2007.
College football isn't the same sport anymore.
The transfer portal has completely changed roster building. NIL has transformed recruiting. Players have more freedom than ever before, and coaches are constantly balancing recruiting high school prospects, retaining their own roster, and rebuilding through the portal. On top of all of that, DeBoer walked into Tuscaloosa and immediately watched 26 players leave through the transfer portal.
Twenty-six.
Think about that for a minute.
Most coaching changes involve replacing a few assistants, implementing a new offense, and introducing a new culture. DeBoer had to replace nearly an entire roster while simultaneously replacing the greatest coach college football has ever seen.
That's not just difficult. It's unprecedented.
Nick Saban understands that reality because he watched it unfold. He knows exactly what DeBoer inherited. That's why his comments carry so much weight.
Unfortunately, many fans don't seem interested in evaluating DeBoer based on the reality of the situation.
Instead, they evaluate him against perfection.
Every loss becomes proof he can't coach. Every close game becomes a crisis. Every recruiting miss is treated like the sky is falling. Meanwhile, every accomplishment gets brushed aside because, "Well…it's Alabama." What an impossible standard.
Ironically, the one person who could reasonably expect perfection doesn't seem to be asking for it.
Nick Saban isn't.
Instead, he's acknowledging something many fans refuse to acknowledge.
This is probably the hardest era in the history of college football to take over a blue-blood program. There has never been another coaching transition quite like this one. Not because of Saban alone. But because DeBoer inherited Saban's expectations while navigating college football's most chaotic era.
That's a nearly impossible combination. And yet, despite the criticism, what has DeBoer actually done?
He's stabilized the program. He's continued to recruit at an elite level. He's assembled an outstanding coaching staff. He's retained key pieces. He's built relationships with players.
Most importantly, he hasn't tried to become Nick Saban.
I actually admire that.
It would've been easy to spend every press conference trying to sound like Saban. To mimic The Process. To coach from fear of comparison. Instead, DeBoer has remained authentic.
He's been himself. That's exactly why Greg Byrne hired him in the first place.
There was never going to be another Nick Saban.
There never will be.
If Alabama had spent its coaching search trying to find "the next Nick Saban," it would've failed before it even began.
Instead, they hired one of the best coaches in America.
A coach who won at Sioux Falls. A coach who won at Fresno State. A coach who took Washington to the national championship game. A coach whose success has followed him everywhere he's been.
That résumé didn't suddenly disappear because he crossed the Alabama state line.
Sometimes I wonder if Alabama fans have forgotten what Saban himself preached for years.
Don't focus on the noise. Don't overreact emotionally. Evaluate the process. Trust the work.
Ironically, many of the same people who spent years quoting Saban seem unwilling to apply those same principles to the man who replaced him.
Maybe that's why Saban continues speaking up. Not because DeBoer needs defending. But because Saban understands something everyone else should. Replacing a legend was never supposed to look easy.
Nick Saban has earned the trust of Alabama fans a thousand times over. For 17 seasons, fans believed him when he said a player was special. They believed him when he said a team needed to improve. They believed him when he talked about leadership, discipline, and culture.
So here's my question: why are so many unwilling to believe him now?
The greatest coach in college football history has already told us exactly what he thinks of Kalen DeBoer.
He respects him. He respects the impossible situation he inherited. He respects the way he's handled it. And he believes he's doing a really good job.
If that's the opinion of the man who knows this job better than anyone who has ever lived, maybe it's time we stop asking whether Kalen DeBoer is Nick Saban.
Because he never needed to be.
Maybe it's finally time to appreciate him for being Kalen DeBoer.
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