"I feel like he'll do a great job": Nick Saban's former staff member approves Kalen DeBoer era at Alabama

Kalen DeBoer did not have the best first season as the coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide. DeBoer led the Crimson Tide to a 9-4 season. This included the team missing out on the College Football Playoff and losing their bowl game to the Michigan Wolverines.

This does mean that he may not have won over many fans of the Crimson Tide, who had gotten used to the dominance seen under Nick Saban.

However, DeBoer has won praise from Scott Cochran, who worked under Saban for 13 years. In an interview with The Tuscaloosa News, Cochran said:

“I met coach DeBoer one time because I was going to see former players. ... What a great guy. Seemed awesome, down to earth. And the players seemed to really like him... Now everybody thinks they can put their opinions out there. But I'm sure he'll take that place back to new heights. I feel like he'll do a great job.”

Cochran is confident that DeBoer will return Alabama to the usual spot in the top rankings in both the SEC and CFP. However, an immediate change may be challenging. DeBoer is going to come into 2025 without quarterback Jalen Milroe. Milroe was the standout star for the Crimson Tide last season but will not return as he has declared for the 2025 NFL draft.

In his place is likely to be a quarterback who is inexperienced compared to Milroe. One way to counter this issue is for the Crimson Tide to bring a transfer quarterback in, but this is likely to affect the medium-term development of the quarterback room, as this transfer QB would take the starting role, denying them opportunities.

Luckily, with players like wide receiver Ryan Williams on the roster, Alabama should be able to score points and lead Kalen DeBoer to victory.

Kalen DeBoer loses a key staff member

Kalen DeBoer is also going into the 2025 season without a key member of his defensive staff. This week, it was announced that co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach Colin Hitschler had left the program to become the new defensive coordinator for the James Madison Dukes.

Last season, Hitschler was key to ensuring safety Malachi Moore had a standout season, recording 70 tackles and becoming a key player on the Crimson Tide defense.

Now, DeBoer has to find his replacement, adding to the list of things the coach needs to do heading into what will be an important season for him.