Kalen DeBoer's Alabama Debut Displays His 'Superpower'

Despite the historical significance of his first game as the Alabama head coach, Kalen DeBoer kept a steady demeanor throughout the blowout win.

Aug 31, 2024; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Kalen DeBoer leads his players onto the field at Bryant-Denny Stadium for his first game as head coach. The Crimson Tide played Western Kentucky Hilltoppers. Mandatory Credit: Gary Cosby Jr.-USA TODAY Sports / Gary Cosby Jr.-USA TODAY Sports

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— Gone are the days of tucked in polos with khakis and sideline butt-chewings of defensive backs. Alabama football has a new head coach with new habits and traditions, but on Saturday night inside Bryant-Denny Stadium, the results looked the same.

No. 5 Alabama rolled over Western Kentucky 63-0 in Kalen DeBoer's debut as the head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide.

DeBoer sported a black hoodie and joggers with a crimson script A ball cap. One of his mottos is "praise in public, critique in private." So DeBoer was seen giving out a multitude of high fives and pats on the back during Alabama's blowout wins, and would gently pull a player off to the side alone if he needed to provide some constructive criticism.

Throughout his first eight months in Tuscaloosa, there's one word that constantly comes up when describing DeBoer: steady. He never gets too high or too low. His demeanor stays the same. Defensive coordinator Kane Wommack called it DeBoer's "superpower."

"The way he is able to keep the main thing, the main thing, amidst all the noise, is something that I think has served him well as a head coach, it served him well as a coordinator," Wommack said. "I think our players lean into that humble confidence that he shows in those moments. You don't take the Alabama job after Coach Saban if you don't have a certain level of confidence about you. But there's a level of humility that he carries himself, that I think Greg Byrne made the perfect hire, in terms of what Kalen brings to the table for this team, and carrying on the legacy that certainly Coach Saban has set, and then other greats before him as well."

DeBoer chose to be the guy that follows the guy– the coach that steps into the massive shoes left behind by legendary head coach Nick Saban. And with Saban watching from a suite inside the stadium, DeBoer and the Crimson Tide put on a show for a dominant, tone-setting win.

Quarterback Jalen Milroe awarded his head coach the game ball after his first career win at Alabama.

"What made it so awesome is all the work that was done in the dark is coming out to shine today," Milroe said after the game. "I’m super excited for our offense, super excited for our football team because we’ve just had so much growth that I’ve seen that’s been in the dark…. To take the field with Coach DeBoer today, we also gave him the game ball today. So I was super excited after the game to announce that for him and just to enjoy these moments together."

His steadiness was needed with the highs and lows of the Crimson Tide's season opening 63-0 win. With a final score like that, there was more good than bad in the win, but DeBoer experienced some early setbacks before things even got going.

Kadyn Proctor, DeBoer's biggest offseason portal win and the presumed starter at left tackle, was injured in pregame warmups and didn't get to play a single snap. Then, when Alabama was setting up for its first series of the game on defense, there were issues with Western Kentucky's headsets, which forced Alabama to abandon its own headsets and send offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan down to the field. DeBoer said it was the first time he's experienced this in his career.

Then on Alabama's first offensive series with the Tide already down one starter on the offensive line, center Parker Brailsford and left guard Tyler Booker both lost their helmets on the same play, meaning they had to exit for a play. So Jalen Milroe had to take a snap with essentially three backup offensive lineman.

"So all of the sudden we had a different center, left guard and left tackle from what we practiced all along," DeBoer said. "Kids did a great job of just adjusting to the adversity. Not getting too shaken and just continuing to play and the next guys were ready to go."

Whether it was his calm reaction to Alabama's first touchdown, his sideline attire of a hoodie and ball cap or no-frills stroll out of the tunnel during pregame warmups, DeBoer displays an unruffled demeanor. But don't mistake being unbothered for being uncaring.

"His attention to detail, his intensity, his focus is steady all the time," Sheridan said earlier in the week about DeBoer. "It's a tremendous quality in a leader and a person."

Even a rainy Walk of Champions couldn't dampen DeBoer's first game as head coach. Redshirt junior linebacker and captain Deontae Lawson said it was the same old DeBoer in the pregame speech that he's come to know. He talked about playing to the Alabama standard.

"He got us hype," Lawson said. "He talked about executing. Just doing your job and playing for the guys in the locker room. We were already ready at that point. He just added to the fire”

Lawson said the players were "lit" for DeBoer in the postgame. Even though he was very humble and prone to deflect attention in the postgame press conference, he did crack a smile in the locker room according to Lawson.

Running back Justice Haynes said DeBoer got pumped up, but not too pumped up after the win.

"Coach DeBoer’s great," Haynes said. "He just said, ‘Doesn’t it feel great to win?’ Which, it does. It’s hard to win, any game... He is so steady. He’s very temperament— doesn’t get too high with the highs, too low with the lows. Very cool, calm and collected. I love Coach DeBoer.”

DeBoer doesn't have the same 24-hour rule that Saban did, where he allowed the team 24 hours to celebrate a win before focusing on the next opponent. In fact, Alabama will be practicing on Sunday. He took his time to briefly celebrate his milestone win Saturday night before focusing on what Alabama has to do for the rest of the season.

"I told the guys in the locker room, none of these points carry over to next week and there’s film out there. And of course there’s strengths we have, but people are going to look at those areas that they can attack," DeBoer said. "We’ve got to continue to understand that there’s a lot of potential with this football team, but we’ve still got a lot of work to do. It’s going to be that way all season long."

See also:

Alabama's Offense Explosive in Kalen DeBoer Debut