MOBILE, Ala. — Kalen DeBoer was comfortable shedding light on the immediate future of Alabama football at the Senior Bowl this week.
DeBoer, who replaced seven-time national champion Nick Saban as the Tide’s head coach, made it clear he will do things his way in Tuscaloosa.
“There’s only one Coach Saban, and there’s different ways to do it to be successful, " DeBoer said in an impromptu interview at Hancock-Whitney Stadium, site of the annual Senior Bowl all-star game this Saturday. (TV: 2:30 p.m. NFL Network).
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“We will want to uphold those traditions and all those things that have made this place special,” DeBoer said, “but everyone will have their own fingerprints on it, when it comes to what we do offensively, defensively, and obviously myself as a head coach.”
DeBoer was the FWAA’s Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year, leading Washington to the CFP Championship game against Michigan in his second season overseeing the Huskies’ program.
Among DeBoer’s observations on the recruiting trail, DeBoer shared with media that “The Alabama logo means a lot down here in the Southeast.”
DeBoer inherits rising redshirt junior quarterback Jalen Milroe from the previous Alabama team and Washington 2023 QB signee Austin Mack made the transfer to play for the Tide earlier this month.
The SEC has a different brand of football than the Pac-12, DeBoer acknowledges, but the new Alabama coach doesn’t expect to have to change his strategies.
“This level of football here in the SEC has been a high championship level for a long time, and I think every part of the country has their own style,” DeBoer said. “Physicality is what wins championships, and I think that’s what a lot of what we do is based on.
“Our stuff will also translate to wherever I’ve been, I’ve been to the Midwest and at other places in the country, (so) making the jump from the West Coast to the Southeast, I think all the things we do will translate over.”
It won’t take long to find out, as Alabama plays host to Georgia on Sept. 28 in Tuscaloosa in one of the most anticipated games of the 2024 season.
It will be the first year of the expanded playoff, and it’s fair to assume Tide fans expect DeBoer to lead Alabama into that 12-team field — at a minimum.
The quarterback position will be the focus of spring drills as Milroe looks to adjust to DeBoer’s offense and new terminology.
In addition to sharing the quarterback room with Mack, who has the benefit of a season in the system behind him, Washington Freshman All-American center Parker Brailsford also transferred to Alabama.
The Tide also lost some key players, most notably Freshman All-American safety Caleb Downs (Ohio State) and veteran receiver Isaiah Bond (Texas).
“I know initially an uncertainty was there when Coach Saban retired, and we lost some guys, and there were some guys that were gone even before that,” said DeBoer, asked about the roster management challenges.
“Maybe it’s just a handful, so I feel really good about where the mindset of the team is at. They are into their workouts.”
DeBoer knows better than anyone the players he inherited signed up to play for Saban, not him, so establishing trust and chemistry quickly is at a premium.
“From a coaching stand point you just jump all in, as far as getting to know the guys, and the relationships,” DeBoer said.
“I think that’s what you ask of your players, too, is try not to wonder or second guess in any way,” he said.
“And if they embrace what we are going to bring to them, we can make strides very quickly in the weeks and months ahead throughout spring ball.”
Alabama recently announced it’s annual “A-Day” spring football game will take place on April 13.
