Nick Saban honest about expectations for Alabama in second year under Kalen DeBoer

Kalen DeBoer had a solid debut season, even if that’s more so by a normal standard than the one at the program he’s now coaching, in Tuscaloosa. Going into his second season now, Nick Saban, his predecessor, could see a better year if for no other reason than continuity from one to the next.

Saban closed his media availability at the Regions Tradition Pro-Am on Wednesday in Hoover with an answer about the expectations for DeBoer’s second season at Alabama. He said he has nothing set in mind about the Crimson Tide but thinks they’ll be hard at work ahead of kickoff this fall.

“I don’t really have an expectation,” Saban said. “I know those guys are working hard to do the best they can.”

A 9-4 record is a great season for most programs, especially because it had the Crimson Tide just a spot away from being in the College Football Playoff. However, it’s not the goal for Alabama, as it ended a 16-year streak of double-digit wins. The Crimson Tide didn’t play in the SEC Championship and, as the first team out, they didn’t compete in the CFP.

That said, Saban did note the amount of transition that the Crimson Tide were having to deal with in the coaching change from him to DeBoer. Adding and subtracting that many players from the portal, plus the losses to the NFL Draft, as well as the coaching hires, made things obviously different during last season. This offseason, specifically in comparison to the last one, was way more stable, which could make for better results in year two under DeBoer.

“You know, it was a difficult transition with the number of players that moved, new system, new people, you know. Players in the organizations had to make adjustments,” Saban said. “I would say that everybody’s probably a lot more settled in this year.”

The expectations are high again at Alabama this year, even being just the second year for DeBoer. Saban thinks Alabama will be just fine, though, come the start of next season.

“I hope they do extremely well,” Saban said.

Paul Finebaum ‘very confident’ in Alabama

The Alabama Crimson Tide are looking to get back to the College Football Playoff after missing out in 2024. It’s going to be difficult to get back into that field, but Paul Finebaum thinks that they’re going to be able to do just that.

While making an appearance on ‘McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning’, Finebaum explained that, over the course of the offseason, he has come around on Alabama. In fact, he now sees them as a team that’ll make the CFP in 2025.

“I think, if you had asked me six months ago, I would have said that Alabama was on the outside of the Playoff,” Finebaum said. “Today, I feel very confident in saying Alabama is in the playoff. The portal really wasn’t a factor, as you guys talk about. It’s just the fact that they are deeper.”