"I've heard that a thousand times" - Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer gets honest about getting advice on following Nick Saban's footsteps

Nick Saban's 17-year-long legacy ended on Jan. 11, 2024. During his tenure, Alabama secured six national championships and nine Southeastern Conference titles, with numerous other achievements.

After Coach Saban announced his retirement, many fans were concerned about the program's future. However, their worries were put to rest soon after Kalen DeBoer was appointed Alabama's next coach.

DeBoer has proved his coaching abilities everywhere he's been, be it at Fresno State or the Washington Huskies. This is fairly translated into his 104-12 overall record.

Following his appointment, even though many felt he was the perfect choice to replace Nick Saban, some questioned his ability to carry the legacy forward.

Kalen DeBoer opened up about filling Nick Saban's shoes at Alabama while talking with Joel Klatt. When asked about different kinds of advice he received from people, DeBoer:

"Those particular people know me, and so they understood it really wasn't about that. But yeah, I've heard that. I mean, not a hundred times. I've heard that a thousand times, which I get."

"I mean, I get where it comes from. you really never make it about that. you do. your skin, full circle. When I said earlier, you make it about these players that when you pour into."

Jalen Milroe weighs in on difference between Nick Saban and Kalen DeBoer's coaching styles

Alabama was used to Nick Saban's style of coaching, which was full of passion, anger outbursts, and often involved conversations about "ass chewings."

Kalen DeBoer took over the program and has made the necessary changes while keeping some of Coach Saban's processes intact.

One change DeBoer has made since his tenure is shifting the practice timings to mornings, while the team practiced from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. under Saban.

In a conversation with Connor O'Gara, Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe talked about an observation he made following Saban's exit and DeBoer's appointment at Alabama:

"It's funny because at practice, you know, I threw, I threw a really good ball, really good deep ball down the field, really good pass. And everyone was celebrating, I threw it, looking at the sideline for the next play, the next signal, and coach DeBoer comes to me like, Hey, what happened? I thought you'll celebrate and run down the field, I said, coach, I was worried about the next play."

"Well, I want you to celebrate. I want you to be excited. It was really good pass, okay, all right. I was like okay, this is different. He Pat on me, it changed my perspective."

Fans would be interested to see how the Alabama team performs during their first post-Nick Saban era in the 2024 college football season.