How do you replace a legend? Kalen DeBoer brings his own style to Alabama

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Kalen DeBoer taps the glass coffee table in front of him.

“There used to be rings on them, right?” he asks.

Few items in Nick Saban's former Alabama office were more memorable than this coffee table — the centerpiece of a sitting area next to his large wooden desk, the resting place for dozens of bowl and championship rings, where the gold-plated keepsakes were stacked on top of each other in velvet jewelry boxes as ingredients for the best Sports recruiting competition.

Nestled between two overstuffed armchairs and a brown leather couch, the varnished wood coffee table displayed nearly two decades of history, artifacts of perhaps the greatest dynasty college football has ever seen – a dominant span of 201 wins, including nine SEC titles and six national championships.

The coffee table is now gone and has been replaced by an unoccupied glass version. The rings are also missing. This also applies to Saban's famous hat rack, his family photos, signed footballs, framed pictures from trips to the White House, baseball caps and trophies.

The head coaching position at Alabama is largely barren. It was left in this condition by its former trainer and maintained in this condition by its current trainer in preparation for this spring's renovation of a clearly aging space whose wooden walls and floors are products of a bygone era.

Change is indeed happening in Tuscaloosa.

Saban, fiery, stern and ruthlessly demanding, is no longer in charge of Alabama football. A few days before the team's spring game, a very different leader walks these halls: DeBoer, gentle, kind and unapologetically welcoming.

The two are perhaps polar opposites. A hard-nosed 72-year-old with a defensive background who is regimented and aggressive, versus a 49-year-old South Dakotan and offensive guru who is talkative and approachable.

Things are more relaxed here, you could say. Quieter ones. People seem less nervous. There is music in training, fewer staff meetings and assistant coaches even speak to the media regularly (gasp!).

DeBoer describes it as a “vibe” that comes from himself: relaxed, comfortable, easy. But that doesn't mean it isn't intense at times. He can be all of those things – fiery and demanding. But he isn't always that way. And maybe that's okay.

“Your experiences shape who you are. I've heard several people say they don't know which way is better,” says DeBoer, looking over the coffee table. “Ultimately, the fundamentals of what it takes to win football games are more similar than different. You have to be physical, disciplined, have an attitude, be proud and have confidence.

“A lot of this is achieved through hard work and building a team mentality. I think a lot of those things coach Saban would say.”

Of course he is right. The recipe may be different, but the ingredients are always the same. He doesn't change his cooking process because of his predecessor.

DeBoer, a receiver at NAIA Sioux Falls in the 1990s, long ago learned an important lesson from his former college coach Bob Young: Be yourself. In his first year as head coach, Young tried to emulate Vince Lombardi.

“He wanted to pass the law,” DeBoer chuckles. “That didn’t go well. That's not who he was. I will always remember that.”

In hiring Saban's replacement, Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne's goal was clear: Hire the very best coach you can, he said.

“If our goal was to hire another Nick Saban, there won’t be another Nick Saban,” Byrne says. “Every time there’s a head coach change, it’s going to be different. We knew that would be the case. One is not right and one is not wrong.”

DeBoer's approach and honesty are special for someone in this role because he's new to the role – the head coach of a high-profile SEC powerhouse making $10 million a year.

Is he pinching himself? Of course he is.

Just six years ago, he was the offensive coordinator at Fresno State. He spent just one year of his career as a Power Five coordinator (Indiana, 2019). And a decade ago, he struggled, posting a 3-21 record in his first two seasons as coordinator at Eastern Michigan.

“There were some moments where you said, 'This is hard,'” DeBoer admitted. “In my first 15 years as a coach, I averaged about $50,000 a year.”

But his humble childhood at the Group of Five and NAIA levels has blossomed into one of the most breathtaking starts to a head coaching career in recent college football history. He lost 12 games in nine seasons as a head coach (Sioux Falls, Fresno State and Washington). He has won three championships (all NAIA in Sioux Falls), three bowl games, five conference titles and a playoff berth. He has tutored some of the game's youngest brilliant quarterbacks and overseen the sport's most electrifying offenses.

Now he's here – in a place where the passion for college football is unmatched, where he arrived in January to thousands of fans at the Tuscaloosa airport, where hundreds of donors turned out for a spring training session. And then they want to hear him speak.

“Everyone hangs on to every word you say all the time,” he said.

DeBoer is the father of two daughters – one of whom is a high school senior and will remain in Seattle to play softball for Washington; and another is a sixth grader whose passion is horses. The family will soon close on a home in Tuscaloosa and sell their Seattle home next week.

He hasn't ventured out much since arriving here, his only focus being the team's preparation at the facility or his temporary housing on campus (yes, he's gotten lost a few times and no, he has Alabama's famous grilled ribs yet). .

On the field, he takes over a program that is anything but in bad shape. Based on recent results, it's in great shape: The Crimson Tide won 12 games last season, won the SEC championship and made the playoffs.

In this job you can't just get ahead from here. From here you can go all the way down, or maybe if you're lucky, stay the same. To stay the same, you just need to win a national title every third season.

Unrealistic expectations? No-win situation? Secure.

During Alabama's search for a coach in January, the question on the minds of the industry was: Who would want to replace a legend?

“You want to replace the man who replaced the man,” one coach put it bluntly.

DeBoer is a realist.

“Yes, I understand,” he says, “but I don't think anyone will put more pressure on me than myself.” I understand that there is a lot more attention and criticism. It’s on a different level here, I’m sure.”

With DeBoer, Alabama has found someone who meets those high expectations, says Byrne. But he is also a realist.

“Does this mean we’re going to win the national championship every year?” Byrne asks. “No, we won’t, but will he equip us for that opportunity? We are confident he will make it.”

DeBoer says much of the necessary “infrastructure” is in place in Alabama, the result of years of Sabanization of the Crimson Tide program. He left many things unchanged, his takeover was a mix of the old guard and newcomers. He employed coaches such as Freddie Roach and Robert Gillespie, head coach Jeff Allen, head strength coach David Ballou and the program's chief operating officer Ellis Ponder.

These are people, DeBoer describes, who “helped make this place what it is.”

“You think of Alabama football, you think of Coach Saban, but there’s more to it than that,” DeBoer said. “He has put in many years of work to make this program bigger than one person.”

However, the Saban effect, as many describe it, remains despite the renovation of his office.

Memories abound – from the national title trophies in the facility's main lobby to the coach's giant face adorning a wall. DeBoer himself sees it in the team. Saban left a roster comprised of former four- and five-star performers whose work ethic and focus impressed their new coach.

How can they be so physical and attacking one minute and then so focused and poised the next?

“I can’t say it’s surprising, but it’s impressive to see,” DeBoer said.

Meanwhile, his predecessor watches from a distance.

While his influence continues, Saban has been largely absent from the football facility. In fact, he hasn't attended a single spring practice, and he wouldn't dare attend defensive staff meetings, as he has done for years.

However, he plans to attend the spring game at Alabama this Saturday, and he has welcomed defensive coordinator Kane Wommack to defensive powwows at his new office at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

Early in his term, DeBoer spoke daily with Saban about personnel decisions and personnel matters. Nevertheless, the two talk from time to time. But it's clear that Saban has intentionally, and perhaps wisely, strayed from the program he developed.

This is DeBoer's team now. And that's clear to see in the facility, on the practice field and in the Alabama coach's office.

“The old man is gone,” as someone put it.

And that also applies to the coffee table, the rings and more.