What Kalen DeBoer said on Marty & McGee ahead of Alabama-Mizzou

SEC Nation is in Tuscaloosa for Alabama’s home game against Missouri, and Crimson Tide head coach Kalen DeBoer joined Marty & McGee on the UA campus on Saturday morning.

Below is everything DeBoer said during his 10-minute interview on the SEC Network.

DeBoer on what comes with being the head coach at Alabama…

“Just being steady I think is the key and continue to just bring the pieces together. It doesn’t happen overnight, and we’ve got a great group of guys, great group of players that continue to just stay the course. They’re excited to get on the football field and be better. I heard the comments, ‘Take the next step,’ and that’s what we’ve gotta do. We’ve gotta take the next step today. 

“They’ve been working hard for that. Their preparation is the invitation to go out and compete today, and that’s what we’re looking forward to. There’s a lot of pieces, but the staff’s done great. You bring in all those elements together, and every day, I know that they’re getting better, too. We’re refining our process and evaluating each and every day. But I’m excited. Each and every Saturday is a new opportunity.”

DeBoer on if he still carries the small-school mentality with him…

“I think the piece that I carry with me is the appreciation for all the people I have around me that are doing a lot of the jobs that I also had to do when I was a football coach and how important they all are to the culture that we’re trying to build. … That’s the piece, I think. And the more people, the more on point you’ve gotta be with bringing and being intentional as you’re trying to really bring that culture together.”

"Your experiences will always shape who you are."@MartySmithESPN and @ESPNMcGee turned back the clock with @AlabamaFTBL head coach @KalenDeBoer to where it all began: Sioux Falls 👏 pic.twitter.com/m4rcDSaZKR

— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) October 26, 2024

DeBoer what he would tell his Sioux Falls self about where he is now…

“The funny thing is there’s three guys right there (in the footage) that I just saw yesterday that are here on campus. That’s what’s cool, two of the guys right at the front. Your experiences will always shape who you are. There’s moments where you’ve fought when you thought at one point maybe it was gonna be too much to overcome, and those are the things you remember and that’s what you’re trying to instill in your team. Just stay the course, keep fighting, whether it’s within a game, whether it’s within a week, within a season, over the course of years. You’ve seen it all and you find out that if you just do things with the right people and get the right people around you, you can get through it.”

DeBoer on if draws on that self during adversity…

“One-hundred percent because you keep the main thing the main thing. And if you can pour into your guys, pour into your staff and just keep them moving forward and making sure, again, you have the right people, you can get there. And we’ll get there. We’ve got talented guys. And the fine line between being where you wanna be and where you’re at, it’s just an every day fight, every day push, and we’re right there. I know it.”

DeBoer on how his trust from/in Jalen Milroe has evolved…

“I think what I care about, too, is the trust that he has in me. I understand and him understanding that I know what he’s going through as he tries to take those steps within our offense, as he continues to put himself out there in front of the team, in front of everyone supporting this program and it is a process. And it’s not just him, it’s the other guys, as well. And as simple as we really, I think, have made it in installing an offense because of the different places I’ve been and trying to be as efficient as possible of putting the main stuff in and then building around your personnel, there’s still things that really have gone well one place and then it isn’t the same. 

“And that’s not just from one place to here, it’s at all the places. You think these concepts or you think these philosophies you have, you just wanna pick them up and put them down. Sometimes it doesn’t go quite as planned, and then you end up doing something else that really fits the strengths of your personnel. And we’re constantly gonna be evaluating, not just this year, years to come. And so that’s just what I love about coaching.”

DeBoer on the challenges Missouri presents…

“The thing that is impressive is you’ve gotta score to win, right, and they do a really good job of not letting you get to the red zone, and then when you get there, it’s still a fight to get in. So putting those points on the board is gonna be big and finishing drives. They’re just sound in all areas. Coach Drink has had a couple years now to really instill what he wants there, and he’s done a good job. 

“I think the offense with Cook, he knows where he wants to go with the football. He has his playmakers. He’s got his highlighted guys. But he’s also got some guys that aren’t under the radar, they’re really good players, and they can pick up whenever you put too much attention on the others. He knows where he wants to go with the football. He’s got a really solid offensive line. They’ve got a run game that they really believe in, and so that sets up everything else.”

DeBoer on what offensively wins this game for Alabama…

“It starts with taking care of the football. We’ve gotta do that. The games that we’ve really done a good job, especially early – being efficient, putting points on the board, taking care of it – those are the ones that really have gotten the momentum on our side. And we’ve been as close as we’ve been to playing team football when that happens. 

“We always wanna be balanced. Being balanced attack, run to pass, doesn’t mean that the stats at the end of the day are equal, but it means that you’ve had the ability when needed to go run the football or go pass the football to move the chains, to put points on the board, and that’s what we’ve gotta be able to do.

“We’ve just gotta make sure we’re not shooting ourselves in the foot. The penalties last week definitely hurt us. It starts with taking care of the football and not shooting ourselves in the foot and always moving forward.”

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