How Kalen DeBoer’s first two seasons at Alabama compare to Nick Saban’s

Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Kalen DeBoer encourages his team as Auburn Tigers take on Alabama Crimson Tide in the Iron Bowl at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Ala. on Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025. Alabama Crimson Tide leads Auburn Tigers 17-6.

Kalen DeBoer is entering his third season as Alabama football’s head coach, and as he is managing the pressure applied by a passionate fanbase that has grown antsier each of the last two seasons, there is something to be said about how DeBoer’s record after his first two years in Tuscaloosa is similar to the first two of Nick Saban, the man that has his own statue in front of Bryant-Denny Stadium. 

In Saban’s first two seasons at Alabama, he won a total of 19 games and lost eight games. DeBoer’s record after his first two seasons as the Crimson Tide’s head coach is very similar. 

DeBoer has captured 20 wins and suffered eight losses. He has one more win under his belt after his first two seasons coaching Alabama than Saban did in his first two.

There is more meat on this bone. Although DeBoer and Saban have almost identical total records after two seasons, their individual season records are different.

Saban kicked off his tenure at Alabama in 2007 by going 7-6 and losing to UL Monroe, a game that Alabama fans prefer to forget. DeBoer’s first season at Alabama began in 2024 and resulted in a 9-4 finish, but the loss at Vanderbilt shook the college football world and heavily damaged the season that Alabama was having. 

Things drastically improved for Saban in his second season as the Crimson Tide won 12 games and lost two in 2008, finishing the year with an appearance in the Sugar Bowl. DeBoer’s second season was an improvement as Alabama posted an 11-4 overall record. The Crimson Tide reached the College Football Playoff and beat Oklahoma in the opening round before falling to Indiana in the Rose Bowl.

Even though DeBoer has one more victory in this comparison, the quality of losses that DeBoer has suffered are some of the worst losses in program history. The 38-3 loss to Indiana was mentioned, but even if you give Alabama a pass for this historic blowout, there are a few more games like the memorable 2024 Vanderbilt loss and the embarrassing rout in the Crimson Tide’s 2025 season opener against Florida State that have caused fans to wonder if DeBoer is the guy for the job in Tuscaloosa.

Now that the comparison of Saban and DeBoer’s first two seasons is over, it’s time to take a look at the future. Something to remember ahead of DeBoer’s third season as the head coach of Alabama if the fans want something to be optimistic about is that it only took Saban three years to win a championship.

Saban and the Crimson Tide captured the BCS National Championship by beating Texas 37-21. That 14-0 season in 2009 was one of the two seasons Alabama finished with a perfect record under Saban. 

Because it took Saban three seasons to win it all, it would only be fair to hold off on the conversations about the temperature of DeBoer’s seat.

An improvement this year for DeBoer would be making it past the quarterfinal round in the College Football Playoff, but fans may have a championship expectation when considering what Saban did in three seasons after inheriting a roster that was in worse shape than the roster DeBoer inherited.

Many people believe comparison is the thief of joy, but when it comes to Alabama football, every head coach moving forward will be compared to the legendary Saban until someone becomes the new measuring stick. That someone could eventually be DeBoer in the future, but he’ll need to capture a championship to enter that conversation.