A new energy is being created at the University of Alabama that football athletes do not want to leave.
Nick Saban was nothing short of legendary in his 17 seasons in Tuscaloosa (Ala.), but Kalen DeBoer is prepared to build on the foundation of championships. He is an offensive mind, but the 49-year-old cares about the defense having success too.
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When Saban announced his retirement, there was a projected 72-hour window to find the next Crimson Tide head coach.
Greg Byrne, Alabama’s athletics director, found him in 40 hours. It has a whirlwind for DeBoer since Jan. 10; however, he has handled everything well. DeBoer had his first “Hey Coach” show on Monday and a few players were on it.
Tyler Booker, a junior offensive lineman, felt comfortable around DeBoer from the moment he arrived. The veteran left guard spoke about DeBoer’s impact to Roger Hoover of Crimson Tide Sports Network. He loves the situation the Tide is in going into the upcoming season.
“He was big on family and big on relationships. That made me feel very comfortable with him being our head coach.”
– @iamtylerbooker on @KalenDeBoer. @Roger_Hoover‘s Full Interview on Thursday’s Crimson Drive driven by @NASCAR at 2 pm on @UA_CTSN: https://t.co/tgBThLFa8p pic.twitter.com/7zrew6xOux— Crimson Tide Sports Network (@UA_CTSN) April 23, 2024
“He was very big on family and big on relationships,” Booker said about DeBoer. “That made me very comfortable with him being our head coach because that was the difference between 2022 and 2023. We did a lot more team activities, I feel like there was a lot more togetherness with the 2023 team. I was focus on our relationship becoming more as a family, and with those being the first words out of Coach DeBoer’s mouth … it made me feel more comfortable bringing him in as the head coach.”
DeBoer is very family oriented. He treated his players and coaching staff at Washington like a family.
It is the reason why Nick Sheridan, JaMarcus Shephard, Austin Mack, Germie Bernard, Josh Cuevas, and Parker Brailsford left the Huskies to join him at Alabama. The vibe DeBoer had at Washington changed the program to where it won the Pac-12 and advance to the College Football Playoff National Championship Game last year.
Alabama has an atmosphere where athletes don’t want to leave. Hopefully, the family environment produces a national title.
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Stephen M. Smith is the senior writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @CoachingMSmith.
