Who really is Kalen DeBoer?
Like, who is the coach now in Year 2 of a historically difficult job replacing a legend? It’s been a question we’ve been asking for 18-plus months since DeBoer stepped off that plane in Tuscaloosa.
And what makes him different from his predecessor? How is he similar?
In a way, DeBoer’s an enigma — a disarmingly friendly guy who brings an unmistakably different personality to this college football blue blood.
But what’s he really like as a coach? And how different is he from the last guy? AL.com spoke to a collection of the relatively few players who span the Saban to DeBoer eras to drill down on who exactly is this smiling South Dakotan leading the Crimson Tide?
They described a man with a high intensity level that’s not seen quite as much outside the football complex. He’s got some Saban in him, a few said, but that manifests in different ways. They see a coach who is, perhaps, more of a partner than a commander.
DeBoer’s office door is always open and his vocabulary is … not quite as colorful.
Offensive lineman Jaeden Roberts was quick with an answer when asked the most significant difference between DeBoer and Saban.
“Oh, definitely personality,” said Roberts, a fifth-year senior. “You know, Coach DeBoer wants to get to know his team, get to know his players. And I’m not saying Coach Saban didn’t, but Coach DeBoer has really done a good job in getting to know everybody’s individuals and then bringing us in as a group and really making this feel like more a family type of team.”
Running back Jam Miller described a coach with a collaborative mindset.
“He also wants to hear what we have to say that can also better the team,” said Miller, a senior. “And just him doing that really builds a strong bond with us as a team.”
Is that unique? Has Miller experienced that kind of coaching before?
“Me personally? Nah, not really,” he said. “Of course, that’s probably new for most guys.”
Linebacker Deontae Lawson went into detail contrasting the two head coaches he had since arriving at Alabama in 2021.
“Nah, they’re, they’re extremely different,” he said. “I mean, you got Coach Saban, who is just so detail-oriented and he just demands excellence from everyone around him. Coaches, players, it doesn’t matter who it is.
“And, Coach DeBoer, is also detail-oriented and demands excellence. But you’re able to, I feel like, be yourself. I feel like with Coach Saban, you know who he is — his figure. So, it kind of makes you tense up or something like that. For freshmen coming in, that wouldn’t be a good thing because you’re trying to do everything perfect and it end up to him having to chew you out.”
