A new era for Alabama football starts Saturday night at 6 p.m. CT at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
Kalen DeBoer leads the Crimson Tide as a first-year head coach for Alabama versus Western Kentucky. Nick Saban produced incredible success in 17 seasons, including six national championships and nine Southeastern Conference titles.
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The 72-year-old is now an analyst for ESPN’s College Football GameDay and is excited for the future of Tide football.
Coach DeBoer is going to do things his way, but Saban feels the 49-year-old has the right ingredients with him.
Before getting hired as Saban’s successor, DeBoer spent the last two years at Washington. He led the Huskies to a Pac-12 Championship and a berth in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game in 2023.
Saban said DeBoer has done ‘a great job’ taking over the program.
“I am really excited for what Kalen [DeBoer] is going to do for Alabama.”
Nick Saban is already impressed with what Coach DeBoer has done with the program 👏 pic.twitter.com/agrcy2LY7Z
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) August 31, 2024
“He has the right disposition about himself,” Saban said about DeBoer. “He embraced the tradition, he embraced the culture, but he’s put his own mark on how he wanted to coach the team. So I am really excited about what Kalen is going to do for Alabama.”
Saban said he has stayed out of the way for the most part, but he did check out one scrimmage in fall camp.
He believes the program is in great hands with DeBoer. Tide nation will be rocking in game one against the Hilltoppers.
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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.
