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Nick Saban says Alabama is short on patience, but Kalen DeBoer will win fans over
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Nick Saban was asked on the Pat McAfee Show on Friday how long he thought Kalen DeBoer would get to build his Alabama program the way he chooses to build it should Alabama stumble this season.
The Tide have already lost once — a stunner at Vanderbilt. They almost lost at home last weekend to South Carolina. In Week 8, they hit the road to face Tennessee at Neyland Stadium — where UT last handed Saban a loss in 2022. The game against the Vols also kicks off a string of 3 straight against ranked opponents.
Alabama might be able to afford 1 more loss and still get into the College Football Playoff. A third loss gets dicey.
The heat has been turned up on DeBoer just 6 games into his tenure. When Alabama lost to Vanderbilt, fans and analysts across the sport said “Saban would never.” In replacing the best coach in Alabama history, DeBoer had to expect to be compared to his predecessor every step of the way.
“I felt that a little bit when I was at Michigan State,” Saban told McAfee on Friday. “When I went there, I was expected to do things almost exactly like (George Perles) did them because I had been on the staff. Yet, through the years, I’d learned some other ways to do things. … Sometimes I felt a little like (people were asking) ‘Why are you doing it a certain way?’
“This is a tough transition for Kalen. … I don’t want to be judgemental about what they do because he has to do what he does his way. He can’t be me, try to be somebody that he isn’t. I think there’s more than 1 way to skin a cat and I actually think the guy’s been successful and I think his way will work. I just think it’s an adjustment for a lot of the fans. But I think he’ll win them over because he’s a good guy and a good coach.”
The question is one of time, though.
DeBoer might eventually win fans over. Does he get the time to do so?
“I can’t make any predictions about the future in terms of what people’s patience will be. They don’t have a lot of patience at Alabama. They have high expectations. You can’t get caught up in that,” Saban told McAfee. “You’ve got to focus on what you’ve got to do to make the team plays as well as you can, and don’t let any of that stuff affect you.
“I think that’s one of the things that allowed me to not lose my mind while I was there. Because we got criticized every time we lost a game. I don’t know how many times I heard Paul Finebaum say, ‘This is the beginning of the end.’ It never was. But he said it a lot. You only have to lose one game with Paul.”
Saban pointed to Isaiah Bond’s transfer after he retired. And to Kadyn Proctor’s transfer (though he eventually returned). And to Caleb Downs’ transfer. Saban said Bond would have been the top safety drafted in the 2024 NFL Draft had he been eligible. That kind of player would have helped DeBoer tremendously.
“They really lost a lot, and people don’t talk about that,” Saban said. “Now, they got a few guys in. I do think there’s going to be a transition, and he’s got to get his people in there. He’ll get the opportunity to recruit them and do it.”
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
