Some Alabama fans have shown immense concern with each athlete it has lost to the NCAA transfer portal.
They wonder if Greg Byrne (athletics director) and Nick Saban (former head coach) made the right choice in Kalen DeBoer as the next head football coach of the Crimson Tide. We have seen current players put their loyalty in DeBoer and former players say ‘let’s focus on the guys at Alabama,’ but now a former staffer for the Crimson Tide unveils his thoughts about the program.
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DeBoer is not panicking about where the Tide is, and neither is Dr. Matt Rhea.
8/24/21 MFB Practice
Alabama Director of Sports Science Matt Rhea
Alabama Head Coach Nick Saban
Photo by Kent Gidley
Rhea, who is a High Performance Director in the National Football League for the New Orleans Saints, was Alabama’s Director of Sports Science from 2020 to 2021. He assisted David Ballou, the Crimson Tide’s Director of Sports Performance, to helping the Tide prevent injuries and be at maximum strength, conditioning, and speed to capture a Southeastern Conference Championship and a College Football Playoff National Championship in 2020. Rhea aided the program to another SEC Championship in 2021 and had it appearing in the 2022 CFP National Championship Game. He wants Tide fans to “relax” on DeBoer as the head coach.
Alabama fans…R-E-L-A-X
You got the right successor. It’ll all work out!— Matt Rhea, PhD (@MattRheaPhD) January 19, 2024
Rhea says Alabama has ‘the right successor’ to Saban.
Tide nation will see for itself what it has in DeBoer in spring football and next season.
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Stephen M. Smith is the managing editor and senior writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @CoachingMSmith.
