A week after being named Alabama’s new head coach, Kalen DeBoer took a break from his hectic schedule to speak on the Paul Finebaum show Friday afternoon.
During the interview, DeBoer gave his thoughts on Alabama’s recent departures to the transfer portal, stating he’s still confident in the direction the program is heading. Here is everything he said during the roughly 10-minute appearance.
On how he's dealing with the transition of becoming Alabama's head coach
“Just one day at a time and enjoying the moments, enjoying the journey, whether it’s preparing for a semifinal game, a championship. You work to get into those moments. And so you don’t necessarily have a chance to enjoy it, but you know it’s special and you pour everything into it. And now this opportunity as well – one day at a time. You wake up, you roll up your sleeves and you go to work and you put great people around you and you trust and believe that you’ve got what it takes. We’re excited about what this future lies. These kids here in this program are special, and it’s been awesome getting to meet them over the last few days.”
On his greeting from Alabama fans at the airport
“It just shows the support. I think football and football at Alabama, it brings people together. I don’t know if they were expecting to come together at that place on a Friday night a couple of weeks ago, but they were and it meant a lot for my family and I and it was a great way to kick off our time here.”
On his thoughts when he got the job
“You’re always honored just to be in the same breath as other coaches, whether it’s a coach of the year, and just to be recognized that way as someone that someone wants. But I just kept working with my own team, and that’s where that’s where I was at. I’ve always believed you work where your feet are at, and I did that. And then getting a chance to meet with Greg (Byrne) and just hear his vision and everything that he was excited about here in the program, just I could tell it aligned with what I was looking for. And all the history and tradition here at Alabama, wow. I mean, I don’t care what side of the country you’re on, you know all about it.”
On his first conversation with Nick Saban
“I actually called him right when I was taking the job.It was just really cool hearing how humble he was, talking about even Coach Bryant and how he was trying to build on top of that. You can certainly tell that he just wants this program to continue to take the steps forward. And that’s what the great opportunity is for us, to build on the foundation he’s left. And he’s left a great foundation, not just with the players in this program but everything that’s been built up to support them.
“I always want to make sure he knows he’s welcomed here. He’s always going to be a critical piece of this program’s history and tradition. I’m going to force him to give me one or two tips and pointers every time he steps on the practice field to come watch us. I’d be pretty foolish not to have a legendary Coach like Coach Saban here helping us with whatever he’s got.”
On what Saban has helped him with
“I know that every time I’ve called him, he’s picked up the phone. It’s been quite often. I’m trying to give him some space and let him enjoy his time, but I know he sees my number come in and knows that I’m looking for maybe a little bit of advice or just talk through something. He’s just been awesome in every way. He’s going to continue to do that. I can just feel that’s what he’s all about.”
On if he’s comfortable with his coaching staff
“Yeah. We’re getting close. We’re not there all the way, but we’ve got an extremely talented staff. A good mix of people I’ve worked with, with those who are very familiar with the SEC and have either coached here are know the area really well. I’m excited about the style of play we’ll have. We’re going to continue to attack both sides of the ball. And jsut a group that I know, their personalities, their egos get put to the side and will always do what best for the betterment of the team. I’m just excited. We’re not quite there yet, but they’re a very talented group.”
On losing players to the transfer portal
“I was just through this two years ago. This is a much better situation than even that one was with a number of players leaving. You just stay the course, and you roll up your sleeves. Like I said earlier, there’s such a great group of leaders here in this program that want to uphold the standard of Alabama football, and they are sticking together. We want those guys that want to be here. They’re working through all the noise that’s out there, and I couldn’t be more proud of them for sticking together, them being intentional on communicating with themselves and trying to keep it tight, keep it together.
“A lot of these guys, they came here to leave a legacy, to build on a legacy but also leave a legacy. They look at it like their job’s not done. There’s unfinished business with what they accomplish, whether its this year or the years past. We’re really looking forward to locking arms as a team, as a staff and continuing to just work with the guys here. I really feel like we’re in a great spot. We just got to stay the course.”
On his message to concerned fans
"It’s just the world we live in right now. When you have change and transition, there’s going to be change with everything that’s around the program. A lot of these programs are going through changes without transition of head coaches. So, I just look at it — naturally, this is going to happen to some extent. And we’ll get the right people in the program, whether it’s staff, whether it’s players. This is a place that has the best facilities, the best resources in the entire country. We are able to support the great players that come in here with all of that.
"I think our guys, and I tell the fans as well, ‘Be excited about the staff we’re bringing in and what we’re going to be capable of doing. I’m really not alarmed at all.”
On his family
“I’ve got my wife, Nicole. We’ve been married 22 years, made a few moves, right, along the way. And you don’t do this job without having someone that just supports you in every way and allows you to go to work and just pour yourself into these players, into a staff and a program. And then two daughters, and one is finishing in high school and the other is in sixth grade – Alexis and Avery. They love football. They love supporting the team, the players, and again, wouldn’t do this without their support.”
