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Andrea Adelson, ESPN Senior Writer
DALLAS — Kalen DeBoer has been Alabama coach for six months, enough time to get settled into his new job and the massive expectations that come with it.
He would not have it any other way.
During his news conference Wednesday at SEC media days, he was asked what it was like following Nick Saban, who returned the Crimson Tide to elite status during his 17 seasons in Tuscaloosa, winning six national titles and nine SEC championships.
“I understand there’s only one Coach Saban,” DeBoer said. “There will only ever be one Coach Saban. This program is special, and I take it as a great honor to be the one that gets to do everything we can to carry on the great tradition.
“But for me personally, it was just more about understanding that coaching football is coaching football. It’s been just an awesome blessing to be a part of this program, to continue to have that expectation on us. The alternative is to be at places where there aren’t expectations.”
DeBoer knows what it is like to be at schools without such outsized expectations. In nine seasons as a head coach at NAIA Sioux Falls, Fresno State and Washington, DeBoer is 104-12. His rise from Sioux Falls has been well documented, as he worked in anonymity there to start his career, first as offensive coordinator, then as head coach from 2005 to 2009. His job responsibilities were many, although he did clarify Wednesday that he never drove the team bus.
“I love how the stories get better and better of all the responsibilities I had,” he said. “I did not drive the bus. But that’s what the stories and the legends will be down the road. I know this: I would not trade my journey for anything. It gives me an appreciation for where I’m at. It gives me an appreciation for the people I have around me and all the jobs that they have because there was a time where you working with equipment and doing things in the locker room, pretty much a [graduate assistant], an offensive coordinator and a head coach all at the same time.”
DeBoer eventually moved into FBS football and ultimately landed at Washington in 2022, going 25-3 and taking the Huskies to the national championship game last season.
Although this is the eighth school he has worked for, this is the first time DeBoer has coached in the South. Asked how he has adjusted to a new region of the country, DeBoer quipped, “I sweat a lot more. It’s hot.”
He said the “great people in Tuscaloosa,” and their passion for football, have “really made this transition smooth and enjoyable.”
“It probably is close to being the place that reminds me the most of being back in South Dakota, just the people,” DeBoer said.
As for the team he inherited from Saban, DeBoer said what has stood out the most is the players’ “trust and belief.”
“Their chemistry and their trust and belief is one thing, and the accountability, as well. These guys, they know they need each other to reach the goals that we have as a program,” DeBoer said.
Still, transitions are never easy, and DeBoer had to work hard to earn the trust of his players. He described a sense of urgency and intensity in his first two weeks on the job, knowing that he had to do whatever it took to keep his roster together.
“Every minute mattered,” DeBoer said. “It really did. It mattered because these guys had phones blowing up. And all it took would maybe be one call and the right one or just at some point, not moving fast enough with getting a coach in place that you know made them feel good about the direction we were going. It was just about having some urgency to try to get things in line.”
DeBoer said he would call impromptu team meetings, have group chats and one-on-one conversations to get to know his players, but also to allow them to feel better about the transition.
“It all helped,” DeBoer said. “I think it helped them become more comfortable, understand that we’re going to be OK.”
Players noted the obvious style differences between Saban and DeBoer, but added that they have all bought in to their new coach — particularly through team-bonding experiences over the summer.
Malachi Moore said the first three weeks in June, Alabama had a bowling alley rented out for players to go hang out. Other activities were planned throughout the summer as well, including mini golf at night.
“That brought people together that you usually wouldn’t hang out with,” Moore said. “It’s been fun.”