Nick Saban evaluates how Kalen DeBoer is performing as Alabama’s head coach

Former Alabama coach Nick Saban at the college football game between Tennessee and Alabama at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on Oct. 18, 2025.

The Alabama Crimson Tide will look to shine under Kalen DeBoer’s third season as head coach in 2026.

Alabama was able to secure a playoff victory for the first time since 2021 last season. The Tide found themselves in the SEC Championship match as well, and Alabama as a whole will now look to build on last year’s success moving forward. 

Legendary Alabama head coach Nick Saban recently took a moment to evaluate DeBoer’s performance over his first two seasons in Tuscaloosa, as Saban believes the head coach has done an excellent job so far.

“First of all, he knew what he was getting into,” Saban said. “And I kind of have a lot of respect for him. I know what the expectations are and I know what the challenges would be, and in this day and age of football it’s even harder to me to take a job because they lost 26 players to the portal, so that’s a whole bunch of guys to make up for. I think he’s doing a really good job, do I think it’s an easy job? Hell no. This league is a tough league, and recruiting is tough. This culture that we have now that people are going all over the country based on the new economic system that players have makes it even more difficult. But I have a tremendous amount of respect and admiration for him. To take on that challenge and embrace that challenge and build something special at Alabama, I’ve always been very supportive of him.”

DeBoer and the Tide had a very successful season last year given Alabama’s health and injury status at numerous positions over the course of 2025. Coach DeBoer will now enter a critical season in his third year at Alabama, but the Tide have a plethora of young and promising talent that is expected to make a major impact moving forward.