Alabama's Kalen DeBoer: 'The Tradition Will Continue' After Nick Saban's Retirement

Alabama head football coach Kalen DeBoer isn't backing down from the expectations in place at his program.

"The tradition will continue," he said during a discussion with Andy Staples of On3 (16:30 mark) when talking about the Crimson Tide moving forward after the legendary Nick Saban retired.

Continuing the tradition of what Saban built would be quite the accomplishment.

After all, he was the face of college football during his 17 years as the head coach of the Crimson Tide. It was a tenure that included six national championships and a 206-29 record with double-digit wins in every one of his seasons except the first.

Be it the BCS era or the College Football Playoff era, Saban's Alabama program continued to dominate on the recruiting trail, on the field and in the trophy case.

DeBoer has plenty of work to do to reach that level, but he impressed during his two seasons as head coach of Washington. The Huskies went 11-2 and won the Alamo Bowl in 2022 and then followed that with a 14-1 record, Pac-12 title and CFP national title game appearance during the 2023 campaign.

Washington is not exactly a powerhouse on the level of Alabama, so accomplishing that in such a short time suggests he could find some success with the Crimson Tide.

It will start on the recruiting trail, and Alabama brought in the No. 2 overall class for the 2024 cycle, per 247Sports' composite rankings. It currently has the No. 7 overall class in 2025 with plenty of time to add top-notch talent before signing day.

Even though Alabama lost high-quality players such as Caleb Downs, Isaiah Bond and Julian Sayin, among others, to the transfer portal after Saban's retirement, it should still have an excellent team in 2024 and figures to be a contender for the 12-team CFP.

September tests against Wisconsin and Georgia should hint at the overall ceiling for DeBoer's team, but he is ready to maintain the standard for the Crimson Tide.