Ty Simpson on buying into Kalen DeBoer, upholding standard: ‘Coach Saban’s not going to walk in’

As Kalen DeBoer gets ready for his second season as the Alabama head coach, the players are buying in, according to quarterback Ty Simpson. The redshirt junior quarterback said the franchise understands it’s a new era in Tuscaloosa and Nick Saban is “not going to walk in” the door.

Alabama had an up-and-down go through DeBoer’s first season as head coach last year. The Crimson Tide reached the highest of highs by taking down Georgia at Bryant-Denny Stadium, but suffered crucial losses to Vanderbilt and Oklahoma down the stretch.

As a result, the Tide missed out on the College Football Playoff. But Simpson said the team is all-in on DeBoer and knows he’s going to put his stamp on the culture Saban built.

“We’re going to make sure that our attention’s on Coach DeBoer and we’re going to do it his way,” Simpson said at the Manning Passing Academy in Thibodaux, La. “And that’s what I think the leaders understand is, Coach Saban’s not going to walk in here.

“This place is built on toughness and understands we’re doing things that nobody else does. Coach DeBoer has modeled that with his philosophies, as well, and I think we’ve had one of the best offseasons in my four years of being here.”

Entering the 2024 season, Alabama was in a state of transition. Saban announced his retirement that January, meaning one of the giants in the sport was walking away. In came DeBoer, fresh off a national championship game appearance with Washington fueled by a high-powered offense led by Michael Penix Jr.

Now, DeBoer has a full year under his belt. When asked if it took time for the new philosophies to really set in, Simpson didn’t dispute that idea and said Alabama is ready to get back to that championship standard.

“You could say that,” Simpson said. “Last year, it wasn’t the standard of Alabama football, losing three or four games. Our standard is championships, winning games and being physical. After seeing last year and leaving that bad taste in our mouths, everybody’s like, we’ve got to do something different. We couldn’t be how we were last year. [In] our first leadership group, Coach DeBoer said that.

“We all agreed, we’ve got to do things differently now and we’ve got to understand that we have to come in with that physical, Alabama-standard mindset, but also understand that Coach DeBoer is going to put his little nuances on [it].”

Ty Simpson: Consistency is key in Year 2 under Kalen DeBoer

Ty Simpson is in the midst of a quarterback competition at Alabama, battling against Austin Mack and freshman Keelon Russell. Crimson Tide offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb recently reiterated the former five-star recruit is in the driver’s seat, but the battle will continue into training camp.

Regardless, Simpson said the biggest key for Alabama in 2025 will be consistency. If the Crimson Tide can hone in the small details, they’ll be in position to reach that high bar.

“We’ve just got to make sure that we can be consistent, that we do the little things the right way and we prepare the right way,” Simpson said. “Coach always says, winners win because that’s what winners do, and winners win by doing the little things right and being professionals.

“Going in each day and making sure that you do everything consistently – whether that’s getting workouts in, treatment, film study – that’s going to help us win on Saturdays. That’s what I think our biggest message is right now is just be consistent and do everything the right way.”