"Got a little chip on their shoulder": Kalen DeBoer has blunt take on Alabama's mindset as Crimson Tide grinds to win championship without Nick Saban

The new head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide, Kalen DeBoer, knows he has a mountain to climb this season.

When long-time head coach Nick Saban announced his retirement after 17 years with Alabama, DeBoer was appointed.

DeBoer understands that this Alabama side is not just playing the upcoming season to show the world they can still be strong without Saban.

According to DeBoer, they are playing with a “chip on their shoulder.” While speaking on 'McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning,' he said:

“Yesterday, just being in the indoor and going through our Fourth Quarter workout, it was electric. That has made this culture what it is and gotten it to this point. They've got a little chip on their shoulder.”

The chip on the shoulder that DeBoer is referring to is the Crimson Tide's defeat to the Michigan Wolverines at the Rose Bowl.

In what was Nick Saban's last game as a head coach, the Crimson Tide came back in the fourth quarter to send the game to overtime. But, a touchdown from Wolverines running back Blake Corum sent Jim Harbaugh's team to the National Championship game and ended the Crimson Tide's season.

Can Kalen DeBoer better the previous season?

Kalen DeBoer knows that many Alabama players will want to do better in the upcoming season and make a national championship game.

The Rose Bowl defeat, alongside the media conversations saying that Alabama's dominance is coming to an end and that SEC rival Georgia is the new powerhouse, only adds to the chip on the shoulder of the Alabama players.

This may fuel them to succeed in DeBoer's first season, as the players will want to avenge the Rose Bowl loss and prove everyone wrong about this Alabama team.