Nick Saban Defends Kalen DeBoer After Alabama's CFP Bracket Elimination vs. Indiana

Retired Alabama coach Nick Saban praised Kalen DeBoer's work with his former program after the Crimson Tide's season ended with a 38-3 Rose Bowl loss to Indiana.

Saban was asked Wednesday on ESPN's The Pat McAfee Show if the Rose Bowl loss made him feel Alabama should have hired one of his former assistants, rather than DeBoer, as his successor in 2024.

"I think if somebody was unavailable, I'm not sure anybody was available that they maybe could have gotten to come here," Saban answered.

Saban continued, "I do think Kalen DeBoer is a really good coach, and doing a good job here. This is a tough transition, especially in this environment that we live in, in college football, in terms of our players coming and going. I think there were 26 players that got in the portal when I retired. So that's a lot to overcome, for anybody. And it would have been a lot to overcome for even one of the guys that formerly coached for me.

"I fully support [Alabama athletic director] Greg Byrne, and what he decided to do, and how he's done it. And I'm hoping that they get the ship going in the right direction here. It's not bad to get in the playoffs, and finish in the final eight, but not the expectation around here, which is tough to live up to, sometimes."

Rumors earlier this season that Michigan was expected to pursue DeBoer led the Alabama head coach to say in a Dec. 14 statement he was "fully committed" to staying with the Crimson Tide.

DeBoer went on to lead Alabama to a first-round win over Oklahoma before his team suffered one of the worst losses in program history during the CFP quarterfinals.

Alabama's blowout Rose Bowl loss marked the program's worst ever postseason defeat, as well as the first time since 1998 the Crimson Tide had trailed by 35 points in a game, per ESPN's Kyle Bonagura.

DeBoer holds a 20-8 regular-season record and one playoff win in two seasons at Alabama.

Given the program's run of six national championship game appearances in seven years under Saban, the pressure will now be on DeBoer to lead his team on a deeper run in the third year of the expanded playoff.

That will start with the transfer portal, where the Crimson Tide may need to look for a new starting quarterback now that Ty Simpson has announced he will forgo his senior season in order to declare for the 2026 NFL draft.