Kalen DeBoer shares message to Alabama players who signed to play for Nick Saban

The transition from Nick Saban to Kalen Deboer as the Alabama head coach happened quickly and was not something Crimson Tide players were prepared for.

DeBoer understood when he was hired as the Alabama head coach on Jan. 12 that Crimson Tide players signed to play for Saban and not him. Because of that, one of DeBoer’s top priorities was to convince current Alabama players to stay in Tuscaloosa.

DeBoer joined The Dan Patrick Show recently and shared his message to Alabama players who were considering transferring.

“There’s so many great players, and they want this place to be great,” Kalen DeBoer said. “It certainly caught them by surprise, and it hits you pretty hard when coach Saban retired. That’s a big piece of why they came here. But they also came here to wear those Alabama colors. They’ve really been receptive to myself and wanting to carry on the legacy of this great place.”

Alabama did lose a few notable players to the transfer portal, including Caleb Downs, Isaiah Bond and Julian Sayin. But DeBoer and his staff were also able to keep several key players in Tuscaloosa.

DeBoer feels good about the job he and his staff did re-recruiting the returning roster.

“I think that’s probably some of the best recruiting our coaches have done so far is really recruiting our own roster. It’s crazy to say that, but I think that’s the case no matter what.,” DeBoer said. “But I think it’s even at another level now just with everything. So I’m really proud of the way our guys, our team, have been receptive and embraced our coaching staff and myself. I think we’ve done a great job of retaining the core, the nucleus, of who’s in this program.”

Kalen DeBoer shares top priority after being named Alabama head coach

Kalen DeBoer had a long list of tasks to complete after being named the head coach at Alabama on Jan. 12.

The former Washington coach joined The Dan Patrick Show recently and shared his top priority after taking over the Crimson Tide program. According to DeBoer, it was trying to keep as much of the current Alabama roster intact as possible.

“Well, meeting with the team, and really trying to get in front of them. Just the craziness of college athletics, and particularly the portal, and just trying to make sure that they got a feel for who I was, in the moment, as soon as I landed, got in front of them,” Kalen DeBoer said.

“But the next four days or so trying to meet with them individually, in groups. You’re trying to build a staff at the same time and showing them the vision and feeling the personalities of those that will be coming into the program to coach them. So that balance right there kept me busy for those four or five days.”