Kalen DeBoer explains whether he feels like Alabama football coach yet

Alabama is going to look a bit different this season. Under new management, the Kalen DeBoer era in Tuscaloosa is set to begin on Aug. 31 against Western Kentucky — but that seems like a lifetime away with spring ball just underway.

As DeBoer gets his feet wet coaching his new team, the new Crimson Tide headman recently explained how much his new reality has set in knowing that he’ll be the Alabama head football coach for the foreseeable future.

“Yeah, I think the work that you’re doing every day kind of supports what the title is, but it’s been awesome,” DeBoer said. “It has been a great couple of months here. It’s been exciting to get the staff in place here and see the guys continue to just grow and do what they came here to do, and that’s getting better and be the best they can be as a football player and football team.”

If one thing is for sure — the new Alabama coach has always coached similar to the way his offense runs, fast and successful. DeBoer’s first season as head coach at Alabama will be his third at the Power Five level — but it’s unlikely that fans will tolerate any time of learning curve. It’s likely DeBoer won’t either. Since he’s been coaching at college football’s highest level, DeBoer has lost just three games and was undefeated against ranked opponents until Washington lost to Michigan in the national championship game this past season.

Overall, he’s 104-12 as a head coach across all levels and has three NAIA National Championships to his credit, winning them in a four-year span between 2006-2009. After multiple stops throughout the Division I level, he became a head coach again in 2020 and coached Fresno State to a 9-3 season in 2021 before moving on to Washington.

Now, DeBoer looks to continue his winning ways in Tuscaloosa as he is expected to have his team compete for conference and national championships right away. The margin for error is slightly bigger than what Nick Saban had to work with now that the College Football Playoff field has expanded to 12, but not by much. Still, the mission remains the same — bring a title back to Tuscaloosa.

DeBoer came up short in the national semifinal during his final season at Washington. He’ll look to go all the way while leading college football’s premier national brand.