'I sweat a lot': Kalen DeBoer feels at home but the Alabama pressure cooker always lingers

It’s not officially SEC Media Days until Alabama’s head football coach takes the stage in the main ballroom. For the first time since 2006, that man with the Alabama helmet behind him on the video board was not Nick Saban.

Alabama Nacho was still here, and throngs of media who cover the Crimson Tide still made the trek to Dallas, but a new coach was discussing Alabama football. While Saban watched from the SEC Network stage in the back of the room, Kalen DeBoer addressed the media at this tentpole event for the first time.

The former Fresno State and Washington head coach again passed another test in what has been a very good offseason for the 49-year-old South Dakota native. DeBoer has the No. 1 class in On3’s team recruiting rankings, and the Tide sit at No. 4 overall in average star rating (91.78) trailing only Ohio State, Oregon, and LSU with 23 total commitments. DeBoer’s staff has secured four five-star commitments and that is only creating more hype in Tuscaloosa.

DeBoer still has not lost a game at Alabama. Still, you can feel more people begin to believe in what the head coach with a career .896 winning percentage could accomplish at the program with the most national championships.

The Alabama head coach is one of the most important individuals in the SEC this season, and it looks like he’s starting to feel more at home as he approaches his first career year spent in the South despite the obvious weather changes

“I sweat a lot more,” DeBoer joked Wednesday at the Omni Hotel in Downtown Dallas. “It’s hot.”

Joking aside, DeBoer comes off as a coach who is very comfortable in his own skin but knows that a difficult challenge lies ahead. After leading Washington to an undefeated regular season and Pac-12 title in 2023, DeBoer likely will not come close to reaching the standard set by Saban but he could win a national title or two and become a Hall of Fame selection in Tuscaloosa. He is starting to make more people believers and feels right at home in the South.

“It probably is close to being the place that reminds me the most of honestly being back in South Dakota, just the people,” DeBoer said. “Somewhat, I guess, the geography. There’s no coastline, I guess, up in South Dakota, but there’s a lot of great things that are similar to what feels like home.”

Will Kalen DeBoer feel like Alabama is home in November? That likely depends on the win/loss results but numerous indicators from head coaching results to recruiting tell us that DeBoer has the juice and coaching chops to keep this program near the top of the SEC and competing for national championships.

The new Alabama head coach has passed another offseason test.