Analyst Reveals Key Difference In Alabama Between Nick Saban, Kalen DeBoer’s Coaching originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

It’s never easy to follow a legend’s lead. Kalen DeBoer was aware of that when he took over for the Alabama Crimson Tide, who’d grown accustomed to dominating college football under Nick Saban’s direction.

On3’s J.D. PicKell recently reminded fans in Tuscaloosa that DeBoer’s job isn’t the same as Saban’s was.

“It’s a fool’s errand to compare Kalen DeBoer and Nick Saban,” PicKell said Friday on “The Hard Count with J.D. PicKell.” “One, Nick Saban’s the greatest of all time. There will never be another, okay? … Also, the era in which Nick Saban coached? Very different than the era Kalen DeBoer is going to coach in.”

Unlike his predecessor, DeBoer has to concern himself with NIL as a factor in recruiting. The Crimson Tide currently have quite the recruiting haul in the Class of 2026, including 247Sports five-stars Xavier Griffin, Cederian Morgan and Jorden Edmonds. Ezavier Crowell, another Alabama commit, is rated a five-star by On3.

“Saban didn’t really have to major in that when he was at Alabama,” PicKell said. “Towards the end he did, but, for the most part, when he was winning national championships, that wasn’t part of the college football fabric. … That wasn’t something he had to account for necessarily. Kalen DeBoer, if he doesn’t account for that, they’re cooked.”

PicKell pointed out, too, that Saban’s Crimson Tide won three national championships in the BCS format, a far less grueling path than DeBoer has to face with winning 3-4 consecutive postseason contests in the College Football Playoff to raise the trophy.

Related: Nation’s No. 2 WR Commits to Alabama

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 3, 2025, where it first appeared.