Kalen DeBoer reveals his first impression of new coaching staff as spring practice opens
Alabama kicked off spring practice Monday as first-year coach Kalen DeBoer and his new staff begin a new era in Tuscaloosa. DeBoer has big shoes to fill as he takes over for Nick Saban, who coached the Crimson Tide for the past 17 seasons.
Although things are just getting started, he liked what he saw out of both the players and coaches when they took the field. He offered up his first impressions in a press conference following practice.
“I think they really take coaching well,” DeBoer said. “We have specific descriptions of what the coaches’ jobs are and the players’ jobs are. We’re very intentional. We talk about the coaches’ job being to teach, critique and demand. We really talk about the critique part and the demanding part.
“When we’re pushing a guy and we’re asking more out of him and coaching him up, that’s a good thing because that means we care and we see that potential in them and that’s our job. I think the guys see that and could feel it today. From a player standpoint, it’s to continue to grind and continue to refine what they do and compete each and every play.”
The Crimson Tide brought on Nick Sheridan as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach while staying in-state to hire South Alabama head coach Kane Wommack as defensive coordinator. Sheridan brings experience working with DeBoer as the tight ends coach at Washington, making the national championship this past season.
DeBoer is expected to still have a handle on the offensive side of things after helping the Huskies to rank as the nation’s No. 2 passing offense in 2023. Wommack’s experience as a head coach will also come in handy, as he led South Alabama to bowl appearances each of the past two seasons.
Additionally, DeBoer brought JaMarcus Shephard with him from Seattle to serve as co-offensive coordinator, associate head coach and receivers coach. Given the success DeBoer, Shephard and Sheridan had together in Washington, there’s a lot of promise for that group at Alabama.
Although DeBoer has a few familiar faces with him, he also made sure to hire a number of coaches with experience in the SEC. He retained running backs coach Robert Gillespie and brought on Christian Robinson, who has worked at Auburn and Florida, to coach outside linebackers. Maurice Linguist, who will coach defensive backs and serve as co-defensive coordinator, worked at Texas A&M and brings head coaching experience from Buffalo.
It’s a solid group as we head into the first part of the 2024 season, and it’s certainly exciting to see things get started in Tuscaloosa.