Kalen DeBoer Confident He Can Fill Nick Saban’s Big Shoes at Alabama

Tom Dierberger | Jul 15, 2024

Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer coaches his team during the A-Day scrimmage at Bryant-Denny Stadium. / Gary Cosby Jr.-USA TODAY Sports

All eyes in college football this fall will be on newly appointed Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer, who was hired in January to take over one of the greatest dynastic programs after Nick Saban announced his retirement.

DeBoer is coming off a 14–1 season and a national championship appearance with the Washington Huskies. As he enters his first season on the sidelines in Tuscaloosa, does DeBoer believe he knows how to follow in Saban's footsteps and win wherever he goes?

"I do," DeBoer said in an interview with Fox Sports' Joel Klatt. "I just think that—hopefully that doesn't come across in an arrogant way—you just know that if you poured everything you got into the right things, and the right people and you have the right support around you, that it can be done."

✍️ @KalenDeBoer talks about taking over after Nick Saban pic.twitter.com/8cC5c9KJY0

— The Joel Klatt Show: A CFB Pod (@JoelKlattShow) July 15, 2024

Saban was announced as Alabama's new football coach in January 2007. At the time, he was a 55-year-old accomplished coach with a national title (LSU in 2003) already under his belt. Over the next 17 seasons, Saban won six national championships and nine SEC titles with the Crimson Tide.

"Coach Saban's built it up to be something, just like many others before him, to where it's greater than one person," DeBoer said. "It's bigger than one person. His face and the legacy he leaves and being the best of the best will certainly live on forever. Coming in, I'm very careful with that task, with that responsibility. I understand it.

"With my experiences ... I feel confident that we aren't going to be perfect—no one is—but we can take those experiences and continue to build here."

DeBoer will make his official Alabama debut on Aug. 31 in a home game against Western Kentucky. The Crimson Tide then battle USF and Wisconsin the next two weeks before taking on SEC rival Georgia at Bryant-Denny Stadium on Sept. 28.