Just over one year ago, Kalen DeBoer began attending his first SEC spring meetings. The Alabama football coach was less than six months into the job, after he moved from Washington to Tuscaloosa in January of 2024, to replace Nick Saban.
A year later, DeBoer spoke to reporters Tuesday, after a full season on the job, one where the Crimson Tide went 9-4 and missed the College Football Playoff. During his press conference, a reporter asked DeBoer what advice he would give his past self about what was to come.
“I think a lot of it was just the early piece, just understanding what the timing of it was in January,” DeBoer said. “I think that was the hardest part. The season and the ups and downs, I’ve been part of that. I think the first year is always extremely hard because there are going to be things that come your way that you just know are going to be hard to handle. And a lot of times, it’s the wins and losses that I’m talking about.”
Once DeBoer touched down at Tuscaloosa National and rode to the Crimson Tide’s facility, he had to begin work at a breakneck pace. First, the transfer portal was open due to Saban’s retirement, making it open season on UA’s roster.
Then, he had to assemble a staff, and quickly. Before he knew it, spring practice had arrived, then camp, then UA’s first game against Western Kentucky.
“Last year, it didn’t play itself out like you want, but I think a lot of things that came weren’t so farfetched when it came to what you expect a first-year season in the SEC to be at Alabama,” DeBoer said. “It’s going to be a grind. It’s going to test you, as far as staying the course, and just test our team as far as sticking together.
“That’s going to be every year, and it just is on another level, I guess, when you really look at guys leaving the program and not getting an opportunity to bring too many in just because of the timing of when the transition happened.”
The 2024 season was the Crimson Tide’s first without winning 10 games since 2007, Saban’s first year in charge. Alabama fell short of the College Football Playoff, after it lost to Vanderbilt and Oklahoma, as well as Tennessee, then dropped the ReliaQuest Bowl to a Michigan team without many of its starters.
On paper, Alabama might be deeper in 2025, after DeBoer and company had a year to stabilize the roster. The coach said Tuesday that he was expecting improvement.
“We’re in a good spot right now because I think our guys have really found out who wants to be here,” DeBoer said. “They’ve really dug in deep. We’ve got a great mix of upperclassmen that understand what it takes, mixed with some young guys that either got their feet wet last year or are coming in and have been really accepted in a way that they feel appreciated by the guys who have gone through it. So I’m really looking forward to this team, this next 6-8 months.”
