Nick Saban feels Kalen DeBoer has done 'a fantastic job' handling coaching transition

Kalen DeBoer got to take over one of the premier programs in college football this offseason, stepping in the breach to replace Nick Saban at Alabama. But taking over a program in such a good spot can present its own set of unique challenges.

As Saban explained on SEC Now during the conference media days in Dallas, DeBoer has done a good job with the transition to a new coaching staff. And the trick, Saban said, was striking a balance between old and new, given the track record of success — Alabama didn’t need a complete overhaul, and DeBoer has coached thusly.

“Taking the place of — in this day and age — of any coach is very difficult,” Saban said. “When you’ve had a successful program, you come in, players can get in the portal, you’ve got really good people on the staff, so you didn’t take over a 2-12 program, you took over a 12-2 program, so you want to keep the good things, you want to get rid of some things you’d like to keep in the way you like to do things. But at the same time, you want to keep as much continuity and you have a very limited time to try to recruit your players, keep the players there, not let them get in the portal, pick the staff you want to keep, bring the staff you have to, sort of, have to make it go for you.”

By Saban’s own measure, DeBoer has done well at carrying over successful elements from his own regime while adding tweaks to schemes and bringing in his own coaching staff.

Plus, Saban is still around as something of a head coach emeritus for the Crimson Tide. He might not seek to insert himself into the conversations about what to do, but Saban is happy to be a ready resource for DeBoer, his coaches and the players trying to keep the ball rolling for a new era in Tuscaloosa.

“And I think Kalen DeBoer has done a fantastic job of that,” Saban said. “I’ve not been in the building since the day I retired, but those guys come over and see me all the time, he’s come over and seen me a couple times, we spent an hour together here and there. The defensive coordinator comes over, the recruiting coordinator comes over. So, I’m involved and I want them to be successful. And they have done a fantastic job in this transition. The players really buy into him.”