As Alabama transitions from G.O.A.T. to promising replacement, the differences are stark

DALLAS — Kalen DeBoer took a cross-country commercial flight here to SEC media days. Yes, a commercial flight.

In fact, he arrived here the night before Alabama’s scheduled day to appear in front of hundreds of media members. He was even spotted walking alone through the lobby of the Omni Hotel on Tuesday night. And he moved around his schedule Wednesday to accommodate more, not fewer, interviews.

None of this would be so surprising or odd if he weren't the Alabama football coach. But he is, he is the Alabama football coach.

“I love talking about our guys and our team. It’s a lot of fun,” DeBoer said as he maneuvered from one group interview to another. “There are pieces to this that get a little crazy at times, but I enjoy it.”

Fun? Enjoy it? Love talking?

The Alabama football coach is embracing media days in a kind of way that the last man — now a media member himself — never truly did. As DeBoer whirled through his first SEC media days on Wednesday, that man, Nick Saban, listened intently to his replacement talk on the main dais at this event and, later on, interviewed DeBoer himself while on the SEC Network set — an unusual juxtaposition of new and old.

“I’m never going to criticize you,” Saban told DeBoer before gesturing to former Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy, on set with the two men. “McElroy," Saban added, “he thinks he should be calling the plays.”

Six months after Saban retired and DeBoer replaced him, the two men interacted in a rare public exchange — interviewer, Saban, asking questions to interviewee, DeBoer.

Saban asked DeBoer about his biggest area of concern (it’s the loss of seniority in the secondary, he answered). He embraced DeBoer on stage like an old friend. And he offered him compliments, too.

“Alabama is a special place. You are going to do a great job there,” Saban told him live on air.

In turn, DeBoer lauded Saban for his help during the transition and the space in which he’s given the staff. While Saban is welcome any time into the Alabama facility, DeBoer said, the former coach’s office is located a half-mile away within Bryant-Denny Stadium.

He’s keeping his distance, and he’s busy anyhow. Saban is on the road much of the time, at his beach or lake house, in Washington D.C. lobbying on behalf of college leaders, or giving public speeches to donor groups.

Through it all, Saban is at DeBoer’s disposal.

“There’s one time he didn’t answer (my call), but within 30 seconds, he called me back,” a smiling DeBoer shared.

DeBoer is not Saban and he’s not trying to be Saban.

After all, he said, “There’s only one Coach Saban. There will only ever be one Coach Saban.”

DeBoer is overly kind, gentle and, some might say, a bit bland behind the mic, lacking the fiery demeanor of his predecessor. He’s an offensive guy, not defensive like Saban.

For the most part, he’s the opposite. Except, of course, for that sterling record. In nine seasons as a head coach, DeBoer has lost 12 games (in 17 seasons at Alabama, Saban lost 29).

During his march through SEC media days — 10 stops in four hours, excluding a half-dozen radio interviews — DeBoer drew the same amount of attention as Alabama coaches before him: a parade of television cameras followed his every move, hands shot up to ask him questions and even a small gathering of Alabama fans lurked in the hotel lobby seeking autographs.

He fielded the typical questions, answering them smoothly and with tact. Yes, he knows he’s slipping into big shoes at a place with, perhaps, unrealistic expectations. But, he said, the alternative is to coach at a school “where there aren’t expectations.”

He’s working to establish Alabama as a “player-led team,” he said, and he’s adjusting quite nicely to recruiting in the SEC — a question mark, in light of his unfamiliarity with the South, that he’s turned into a strength. The Tide’s 2025 commitment class is ranked second in the country by Rivals.com.

“I knew the intensity level that existed here in the SEC. It’s different,” he said.

As he moved from room to room within the Omni Hotel, DeBoer steadily glanced at his smartphone hoping for updates on his oldest daughter’s summer league softball game. Kalen spent the last few days with daughter Alexis as she competed in games in the Los Angeles area.

Next month, she’ll start her freshman year at Kalen’s former school, Washington, where she signed with the Huskies to play softball. He flew commercial from L.A. to Dallas on Tuesday night while Alabama’s three player representatives flew from Tuscaloosa on Wednesday morning.

“I wanted to make sure the guys had a chance to fly on the private plane over here,” he said.

One of those players, offensive lineman Tyler Booker, made a bit of noise on Wednesday, when he took a playful stab at his former coach’s prediction for the SEC championship game. On Monday, Saban picked Georgia and Texas to play for all the SEC marbles.

“He always used to say, ‘Don’t let some guy that lives in their mom’s basement determine how you feel,’” Booker said of Saban. “So I’m not gonna let some guy who plays golf all day determine how I feel.”

Shot fired!

Saban does play plenty of golf. In a small gathering with media members on Wednesday, the coach acknowledged that his normal routine, when home in Tuscaloosa, is to hit the course at 7:30 a.m. Within a couple of hours, he often receives a text from wife Terry.

“I can’t get to the ninth hole without getting a text of this is what you got to do. At least let me finish my round,” he laughed.

What a different time in the SEC. Nick Saban is playing golf and interviewing coaches. And the Alabama football coach is flying commercial.