Nick Saban Opens Up About the Pressure That Kalen DeBoer Faces

The legendary head coach discusses the impact of the Alabama Standard.

Aug. 5, 2025; Tuscaloosa, AL, USA; Nick Saban speaks during the Nick’s Kids Foundation Luncheon at Bryant-Denny Stadium. | Gary Cosby Jr. / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Kalen DeBoer's second season as Alabama's head coach isn't off to the best start, as last Saturday's road loss to Florida State broke a 22-game streak of starting the year 1-0.

DeBoer took over for legendary head coach Nick Saban following his retirement in January 2024. Alabama finished last season 9-4, which was the first time since 2007 (Saban's first year) that the Crimson Tide finished with under 10 wins.

In other words, DeBoer has been put under a ton of pressure to quickly return to The Standard that Saban revolutionized with his six National Championships over 17 years in Tuscaloosa.

"Kalen is a really good guy," Saban said on The Pat McAfee Show on Friday. "He's a good coach. He's always had success everywhere he's been. Maybe he hasn't had to deal with this kind of scrutiny in the past.

"But if you're going to be successful, you've got to be able to self-assess and figure out, 'Hey, what can I do better?' I know that he's reaching out to a lot of people trying to do that. Hopefully they get it turned around this week and develop some confidence on this team so they can move forward in a positive way."

Before coming to Alabama, in nine seasons as a head coach, DeBoer accumulated a record of 104-12, which includes a 25-3 record in his previous stop with the Washington Huskies and three NAIA National Championships at Sioux Falls.

However, Alabama has lost five games dating back to last season. Four of the losses came against unranked opponents, including the Seminoles.

As DeBoer continues to figure some things out early in Year 2, Saban opened up about the pressure that Crimson Tide coaches face, stating that fans "expect you to win every game."

"There is a high expectation," Saban said. "The standard is really, really high for what you're supposed to accomplish and what you're supposed to do.

"You need to protect your players from that and give them a different way to compete in the game so they're not looking at the scoreboard, they're not worried about the outcome, they can stay focused on the things that they need to do to compete in the game for 60 minutes and play one play at a time so they're not worried about that."

"Because that's all they hear everywhere they go on social media. They're expected to win. You can’t let that creep in and that anxiety about being outcome-oriented affect their performance."

DeBoer and the Crimson Tide aim to get back on track at home against Louisiana Monroe on Saturday at 6:45 p.m. CT on SEC Network.