"It was fast": When Kalen DeBoer opened up on last minute rush to join Alabama after Nick Saban's retirement

Modified Apr 06, 2025 06:33 GMT

NCAA Football: Senior Bowl - Source: Imagn

Kalen DeBoer took over as coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide last year after Nick Saban, who was in the role for 17 seasons, retired.

Only a few days passed between Saban announcing his retirement and the hiring of DeBoer. Two weeks after his appointment in January 2024, DeBoer spoke on the Dan Patrick Show about the rush with which he became the Alabama coach.

"It was fast and that's probably the unfortunate thing of all this is how quickly it happened," he said. (6:20)

"I spent literally 5-10 minutes packing a bag and forgot a lot of things. I just had enough to get through a few days and that carries onto a few weeks. There's no great way to be able to talk to the fanbase, or the team. I'll get to that as things settle down."

The week DeBoer was hired by the Crimson Tide was a very busy one for him. He began the week as the coach of the Washington Huskies and led the team in the national championship game. The Huskies lost the game to the Michigan Wolverines.

Then two days later, Nick Saban announced his retirement. Bama then wasted no time in finding a replacement. On Friday, DeBoer was announced as the new Alabama Crimson Tide coach.

After a rocky first few weeks with the Crimson Tide, DeBoer was able to get the team ready for the season. Alabama would go 9-4 (a below-par season by its high standards) and would miss out on a spot in the 12-team College Football Playoff.

Kalen DeBoer on the Alabama defense

Focusing on the 2025 season, DeBoer has been leading his Crimson Tide team in their spring training camp.

On Friday, he spoke to the media about how an area of strength for Bama this year would be its defensive backs.

"Both corners and safeties together have really kind of reconfigured and are playing extremely high level of football. They’re seeking out. They’re hunting the ball. They’re confident.”

Alabama is likely to need a strong defense this year to potentially fill any holes left by its weaker offense (compared to last year).

About the author

Ben Tredinnick is a journalist who covers college football and college basketball at Sportskeeda who is currently studying for a masters in Data Science. His degree in Psychology has helped him gain an in-depth understanding of the minds of coaches.

Ben has been involved in sports writing since 2022 and covered the NFL previously. His strengths include providing in-depth profiles of athletes and coaches, with a particular focus on development, and looking at which teams could be in the hunt for today's college stars.

Ben enjoys following college sports more than the NBA or NFL because there is more variation in terms of playstyles. The tournaments are often more competitive than the major leagues, and due to the constant turnover of players, there are rarely any "superteams" in college sports.

He prioritizes research, looks at multiple sources and publications to make sure he gets the full picture of the story before writing. He tries not to write from a one-sided perspective to allow the reader to be able to make their mind up on their own.

A Texas Longhorns fan, as well as a massive New York Giants fan, some of his favorite college players of all time are Arch Manning, Tim Tebow and Reggie Bush.

When he is not working, Ben enjoys watching films (especially Godzilla) and spending time with his cat.

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Edited by Satagni Sikder