Kirk Herbstreit explains confidence in Kalen DeBoer following Nick Saban at Alabama

Kirk Herbstreit is high on Kalen DeBoer and Alabama going into Saturday’s opener and confident in the team getting out of Nick Saban’s shadow.

Ironically, Saban is on the ESPN College GameDay set all year and he’ll certainly be talking about his former school where he won six national titles. DeBoer just led Washington to the national title game last year, but this is a whole ‘nother animal.

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Still, Herbstreit explained his confidence in DeBoer taking on a new challenge.

“Well, I think, first of all, how cool is it, on our set, you know, all year, but especially today, to talk about that subject and Nick Saban, we’re going to turn to him and ask him his thoughts on that,” Herbstreit said on SportsCenter. “I mean that shadow is very, very large in Tuscaloosa. We all knew that, whoever stepped in to become the next head coach. That’s a very, very challenging thing. 

“Now, all of us that follow Kalen DeBoer are very familiar with what he brings to the table, so we have confidence in what he can do, and he’s going to go about it very differently, but he’s an outstanding coach.” 

DeBoer doesn’t just delegate, he has a very hands on approach.

“He’s very involved,” Herbstreit said. “He has a great history of what he can do, especially on the offensive side of the ball. He’s hired a great DC, great staff. Now it’s just a matter of getting settled in, not worrying about Nick Saban, not worrying about what they used to do. It’s a new era. I think he’s getting his players to grasp and understand like, we’re doing it our way, you know, and Nick Saban is not here anymore, and we’ve got to do it our way. And that’s something I think will be very key.”

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Alabama kicks off the season against Western Kentucky Saturday at 7:00 p.m. ET.

“To see where we’re at now, it’s just really rewarding because a lot of work was put in and a lot of effort by the staff and by our players to really be intentional on coming together,” DeBoer said, via BamaOnline. “Not just the work but the relationship building and the buying in has happened gradually over the course of the last seven months.

“We haven’t done anything yet, but there’s a process to it that I know it takes, what it takes to win. And everything is not just what they say but what they’ve been doing has been everything we could ask for from these players.”