The legendary Nick Saban retired from coaching after the 2023 season. Saban left his post at Alabama, where the illustrious coach won six National Championships from 2007 to 2023.
Replacing a legend is no easy task, but that’s what Kalen DeBoer will have to do this year. Alabama hired DeBoer away from the Washington Huskies after their most successful season since 1991. DeBoer has a lot of prowess himself, but mighty high expectations.
There’ll be a lot of attention on DeBoer this season. The legendary Saban joined Rob Stone, Mark Ingram, and Urban Meyer on The Triple Option this week. On the debut show, Stone asked Saban what advice he’s given to the new coach in Tuscaloosa.
“I think the biggest thing–Urban coaching at Ohio State is no different there. You coach at these programs with high expectations, which is what we all want. There’s nothing wrong with that. But I think the number one thing you gotta do is be who you are,” Saban said. “Focus on the things that are in front of you, and don’t get impacted by external factors.”
Saban noted the high expectations and pressure on the job. But the legendary coach also noted that nobody puts more pressure on themselves than the head coaches. Not the media, not the fans, or anyone else. So Saban says that shouldn’t be a factor, even though current times make that a challenge.
“And I think that’s a little more difficult to do in this day and age because of social media. Social media is a great thing in terms of creating interest in athletics, but when players start to believe what they read on the internet, that sometimes can affect their psychological disposition of how they approach what they do,” he explained. “Whether they get frustrated, whether disappointed, whether they’re overconfident, complacent, I mean these are all impacts you can have from worrying about what other people think rather than controlling what you can control.”
Alabama plans to honor the legendary Saban this season by putting his namesake on the field at Bryant-Denny Stadium forever.
