Nick Saban gives his thoughts on Year 2 for Kalen DeBoer at Alabama.
During his coaching career at Alabama and at other stops, Nick Saban generally declined to engage on two topics — expectations and hypotheticals.
Appearing Wednesday at the Regions Tradition Celebrity Pro-Am golf tournament at Greystone in Hoover, Saban wasn’t about to change his ways. Asked about his “expectations” for Crimson Tide coach successor Kalen DeBoer heading into Year 2, Saban at first demurred, but did note that the transition to a new coach last fall was “difficult” for everyone involved.I don’t really have an expectation,” Saban said. “I know those guys are working hard to do the best they can. …It was a difficult transition with the number of players that moved (via the transfer portal), (a) new system, new people. Players in the organization had to make adjustments. So I would say that everybody’s probably a lot more settled in this year, and I hope they do extremely well.”Alabama finished 9-4 in its first year under DeBoer, the first time it had failed to win double-digit games since Saban’s 2007 debut season.
