Evaluating Kalen DeBoer's First SEC Media Days: Just a Minute

The new Alabama head coach had his turn at the podium on Wednesday.

Jul 17, 2024; Dallas, TX, USA; Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer speaking at Omni Dallas Hotel. Mandatory Credit: Brett Patzke-USA TODAY Sports / Brett Patzke-USA TODAY Sports

Welcome to BamaCentral’s "Just a Minute," a video series featuring BamaCentral's Alabama beat writers. Multiple times a week, the writers will group up to provide their take on a topic concerning the Crimson Tide or the landscape of college sports.

Watch the above video as BamaCentral staff writers Blake Byler and Katie Windham discuss Kalen DeBoer's first trip to SEC Media Days as the Alabama football head coach and compare the differences between DeBoer's approach with the media to Nick Saban.

Alabama had its turn at 2024 SEC Media Days in Dallas on Wednesday, and Kalen DeBoer got his first chance to speak at the big event. He had his turn at the main podium and in the electronic media room, but DeBoer also took the time to do countless radio interviews and took questions from digitial media outlets.

The Alabama head coach gave a one-on-one interview with BamaCentral, which you can watch here. He even got to spend time on the SEC Network set with his predecessor, Nick Saban.

DeBoer didn't break the internet with a hot take or challenging quote. He didn't really provide any breaking news on his team either as the Crimson Tide prepares to enter fall camp at the end of the month. But DeBoer accomplished his goal with the media: share positive stories about Alabama. And he did continue to show the smooth transition between himself and Saban.

The new coach took a commercial flight to Dallas from Los Angeles, where he was watching his daughter play softball, to get there early and be more accessible to the media according to a story by Yahoo. It is a much different approach to the media than Saban took. One isn't more right or wrong than the other, but it just shows that DeBoer is doing things his own way while still respecting the standard Alabama has set.