Nick Saban offers valuable advice to Kalen DeBoer as the Alabama HC goes through a "tough transition"

Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer is going through what could be described as a "rough patch" in his first year in charge.

Despite a strong start, the Crimson Tide have struggled in their last two games, potentially ruining their chances of making the playoffs.

On Friday's edition of "The Pat McAfee Show," former Alabama coach Nick Saban gave DeBoer some advice:

"I don't want to be judgmental about what they do because I think he has to do what he does his way," Saban said. "He can't be me. He can't try to be somebody that he isn't. And I think there's more than one way to skin a cat."

DeBoer has come into an Alabama program that has high expectations about what success looks like. Under Saban, the Crimson Tide experienced unprecedented levels of success, winning six national championship and almost always being in contention for them.

But, in the early days of the DeBoer reign, things have not been perfect for the new coach.

After their big win against the Georgia Bulldogs, the Crimson Tide immediately fell back to Earth with a defeat to the unranked Vanderbilt Commodores.

This was followed by a game against the South Carolina Gamecocks, where Alabama was lucky to hold onto victory.

However, despite the recent struggles, Nick Saban still believes in DeBoer's abilities:

"I actually think the guy has been successful," Saban said. "I think his way will work. I think it's an adjustment for a lot of the fans and people. But I think he'll win them over because he's a good guy and a good coach. He's got a good system and a good organization. I'm just trying to be supportive and helpful in any way that I can."

Kalen DeBoer needs to do his own thing while coaching, and this wlll be enable him to bring those who doubt him on his side.

The best way to do this (and to shake off their recent struggles) would be to deliver a convincing win against the Tennessee Volunteers this weekend.

Nick Saban had been in the same position as Kalen DeBoer

Also in the interview, Saban told McAfee that he had been in the same position when he was starting out as the Michigan State Spartans head coach.

He took over from long-term coach George Perles, who Saban had served under before.

"So when I went there, I was expected to do things almost exactly like he did because I had been on the staff," Saban said. "But through the years, I'd learned some other ways to do things because of Bill Belichick and people like that. Sometimes I felt a little like, 'Why aren't you doing it a certain way?'"

During his five years with the Spartans, Saban turned around a side that had their share of struggles.

In this, he was able to develop his own coaching style, something completely different from Perles. It worked in East Lansing, and Saban was able to take this to LSU and later Alabama.