Kalen DeBoer was attacked by Nick Saban

Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer said he couldn’t take it when Nick Saban attacked him

DeBoer will take Nick Saban’s place as Alabama’s next head coach, according to sources who spoke to ESPN on Friday. Saban leaves the program after more than 200 victories and six national titles.

49-year-old DeBoer is 105-12 in his head coaching career. Last season, while leading Washington to the national championship game, he was voted the AP Coach of the Year.

He now has to adjust to a more competitive SEC that will include Texas and Oklahoma in the upcoming season.

For what reason did the Tide select DeBoer to head Alabama football’s next chapter? What will happen to Washington next? Regarding the transfer, we address some of the most frequently asked questions.

Alabama, more than anything, wants a winner, and DeBoer has triumphed everywhere he has gone. In seven of his nine seasons as head coach, he has won 11 games or more. In his second season at U-Dub, he led Washington to a Pac-12 title and the College Football Playoff National Championship game.

Over the previous two seasons, Dan Lanning and Steve Sarkisian—two additional players who were heavily considered in the Alabama coaching search—had a combined record of 0–5 versus DeBoer. Electric offenses were what DeBoer committed. This season, the Huskies scored 13th nationwide, and in 2022, they were sixth. They scored at least 36 points per game on average in both seasons and observed how quarterback Michael Penix Jr. developed in Washington under DeBoer’s tutelage.

It was crucial that Alabama hire a head coach with extensive expertise. DeBoer has had head coaching positions in Division II with Sioux Falls and the Pac-12 at Fresno State. Chris Low

What will be DeBoer’s largest obstacle?

The first priority will be roster retention. Since backfilling won’t be possible until the portal reopens for non-graduates in the spring, a large exodus of gamers to the portal could be disastrous. The majority of the well-known names had already taken action by that point. Putting aside that pressing issue, expectations will undoubtedly be the largest obstacle. Not only about victories and losses, but about always being judged against Saban’s methods.

DeBoer will need to tread carefully while putting his method into practice so as not to inadvertently tread on Saban’s capital-P process, even though there isn’t a tower à la Bear Bryant to knock down. If too many changes are made too soon, supporters and the fan base may rebel. Additionally, you need to continue making donations in today’s NIL game. Alex Scarborough

What should be DeBoer’s primary priority when it comes to the roster?

As far as the roster is concerned, DeBoer has a few advantages. The first is that every Alabama original commitment—all but six—enrolled early during the early signing period that just ended.

Alabama has already begun classes; thus, prospective students in the 2024 class who enrolled early will not be able to withdraw from their national letters of intent without transferring. Players would use their one-time transfer to accomplish that, but they would also need to apply to and get accepted into a new university.

That would be challenging because different colleges have different schedules, and players might have to wait until the summer to sign up.

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It is DeBoer’s responsibility to make sure the great players who recently signed want to stay and work inside his system. Julian Sayin, a five-star quarterback and the third-best prospect overall in the cycle, is the class’s most important player. It is essential to maintain Sayin on the roster for competitiveness, depth, and talent.

He might end up being the quarterback of the future, which would ease DeBoer’s transition. He can attempt to persuade Sayin that he could accomplish the same for him by demonstrating to him the success he had with Michael Penix Jr.

Examining the roster and letting the players know he wants them to stay would be the next step in the process. The players can access the transfer site and consider other choices within a 30-day period. Since DeBoer left, the Washington players would also have a 30-day window to access the portal, so he may try to import any players he believes could help him win at Alabama.

Elite players and stars already abound on Alabama’s roster, so there shouldn’t be much of a weeding-out process. As he takes over a club that finished first in the SEC and advanced to the College Football Playoffs, his top priorities should be player acquisition to bolster an already strong squad and retention. Van Haaren, Tom

What is Saban’s new position at Alabama going to mean for DeBoer?

Saban’s influence and/or role will extend beyond the football team to the entire campus. He won’t be hanging out in the film room or talking up players or coaches at the football complex because his office will be located at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Furthermore, it’s not his style.

Saban will always be willing to offer his advice when asked, but he has no desire to be the old coach watching someone else’s shoulder. His goal is to serve as a resource for the university as a whole in as many ways as possible. He and his wife, Terry, have expressed how much Alabama means to them. He’s not going to be hanging around all the time, though, and the truth is that whether or not Saban was physically present, his enormous shadow was always going to be there at Alabama, regardless of the new coach. — Dim

Can Alabama hope to challenge for a national championship the following year?

The absence of Saban won’t alter the expectations. And why should it be for the next season? This club still has what it takes to compete for an SEC championship if the major players from the previous season—Jalen Milroe, Blake Downs, Deontae Lawson, and Kydyn Proctor, to mention a few—don’t head for the portal. The Tide would have won the Rose Bowl and possibly sent head coach Nick Saban packing if it weren’t for defensive lapses in the closing minutes of their game against Michigan. And keep in mind that the playoffs are getting bigger, so you can still get in the following season even if you don’t win your conference.

Putting aside the challenges that come with a coaching change, the task will be substantial. While Ole Miss is making a strong push and Texas is entering the conference with its own title ambitions, Georgia and LSU are here to stay. — Scarborough

When it comes to Washington’s coaching search, what should come first?

For UW, the answer is straightforward: Ryan Grubb needs to be promoted right away from offensive coordinator to head coach. Troy Dannen, the new athletic director at UW, is moving too slowly if you are reading this and he hasn’t hired Grubb to take DeBoer’s position yet.

Though DeBoer gets all the credit for his coaching accomplishments, Grubb has been by his side almost the entire time (at Sioux Falls, Eastern Michigan, Fresno State, and UW). Grubb is the one Washington players refer to as the “crazy genius” or use another incredibly nice term when discussing the offense and the reasons it has been so successful.

He was the playcaller and the one who collaborated with quarterback Michael Penix Jr. the most; hence, he should be considered alternatives A, B, and C in the DeBoer replacement scheme. This is not the same as Chris Petersen leaving the program for Jimmy Lake. Grubb is prepared. DeBoer and Grubb will undoubtedly want to rely on some of the same players, so building a staff will be difficult, but there will be a long line of great coaches who want to be in Seattle. Bonagura Kyle

Was DeBoer able to adequately position UW for long-term success as it joins the Big Ten?

What’s left behind doesn’t matter as much in college football these days because of the lenient transfer regulations. DeBoer’s departure might theoretically trigger a mass exodus. That is how the sport is set up.

He does, however, leave behind an energised fan and donor base that ought to be more inclined to support the school’s NIL possibilities than they were two years ago now that they’ve had a taste of the high life. If it wasn’t already clear, DeBoer demonstrated that UW has the facilities necessary to compete at the top level of the sport, which is very important for recruiting.

It was already expected that UW, as it enters the Big Ten, would regress the next season given the departure of most of its major players. However, that was merely a normal ebb and flow for a program that relied so heavily on seasoned players.