Stephen A. Smith thinks Kalen DeBoer is under "immense pressure" to fill Nick Saban's shoes at Alabama
After an electrifying 17-year run with the Crimson Tide, six national championships, and nine SEC titles later, Nick Saban decided to give up his throne at Alabama and announced his retirement on January 11, 2024.
Coach Saban ended his career on a high note as Crimson Tide ended the 2023 season with an overall record of 12-2.
Later, Kalen DeBoer was hired as the next Alabama coach, leaving fans hopeful about the program's future.
During the latest episode of First Take, Stephen A. Smith talked about the pressure faced by Kalen DeBoer to match Nick Saban's success at Alabama. Here's what he said:
"He's(Kalen DeBoer) under immense pressure. But it's not to win a championship this year is to maintain an elevated level of relevancy.
"It's not just about winning. It's the mystique that Nick Saban brought to the equation. He held the cats accountable. Yeah, he was the face of college football. He was something, he let you know that the road to prosperity in some way, shape, form or fashion had to go through him.
"That's what Kalen DeBoer has to establish that it ain't changed in that regard. We won six national championships in 17 years with Nick Saban. That means 11 years we didn't win it. We understand that ain't gonna happen every year. But damn it be relevant. Be relevant." (2:20)
Kalen DeBoer introduced some changes after taking over Alabama's top job
Kalen DeBoer took over Nick Saban's Alabama in January, and he hasn't looked back since.
DeBoer has talked about his gameplan to take the Crimson Tide's greatness forward time and time again, be it by retaining key staff members or keeping "The Door" as it was during Nick Saban's tenure.
However, while he retained some processes, DeBoer has also been taking charge of the ones that needed major revamps.
For instance, during the Nick Saban era, the Crimson Tide crew used to practice from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM. However, DeBoer wanted his players to also focus on their social and academic lives, and to contribute to that, he changed the timing to 8:00 a.m. through 10:00 a.m. in the morning.
Fans would be interested to see how the revamped Alabama team under Kalen DeBoer performs during their first post-Nick Saban season.