What Kalen DeBoer Said at New Alabama Head Coach's Introductory Press Conference
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — How do you follow in the footsteps of a giant?
On Saturday, Alabama officially introduced Kalen DeBoer as the 28th head coach in school history, just two days after the retirement of all-time great head coach Nick Saban.
In 2023, he lead the Huskies to a 14-1 record, a PAC-12 Championship, a win over Steve Sarkisian's Texas Longhorns in the semifinals of the College Football Playoff, and a National Championship Game appearance.
Full Transcript of Kalen DeBoer's Opening Press Conference- Jan. 13, 2024
"This is really exciting for myself and my family as they were introduced. First of all, I've got a lot of thank yous and people I want to show some appreciation to, but Nicole, Alexis, Avery, you know, this journey that we're on called life, it's special. Special days like this are the ones that we're never going to forget, and I can't thank them enough for their support, their love. They're the ones that allow me to each and every day leave the house and go to work and give everything I have to our players and our staff to help us be the best we can be. I appreciate you guys. I love you guys, and thank you, thank you.
"I want to thank Greg [Byrne.] I know this is happening fast. I just can't say enough about the trust that you have in me and how much I appreciate that. It means so much. We had never met, we never met! To do your due diligence and all of that and go through the process, I really appreciate it. I'm so excited to lock arms with you as I am the rest of the athletic department, the rest of the coaches here and to continue to build on the great tradition of Alabama Athletics as a whole. So many championships, so many great coaches I can't wait to meet. We're going to continue to strive to make this thing better all together.
"President Bell and Chancellor St. John, I appreciate you guys as well. I'm looking forward to building this university together. It's special. Thanks for this opportunity.
"I could go on and on about the next person I need to thank, show appreciation to, and you all know who that is in Coach Saban. We just talked for the first time yesterday, and I've bent his ear a couple times already here. I can just feel in his voice, you know what I'm talking about, you've seen it for many years. This place is special, it's special to him. It's special to all of you because of what he's built it up to be. It's not just about the championships. I met with the team last night and heard from them. I heard why they came here. There was a lot of great reasons, all tied to the Alabama brand and the education and playing here each and every Saturday and the support that they get. Obviously there was a major piece of that. They came here because of Coach Saban and Miss Terry poured everything into them and they just saw the vision and wanted to be a part of it.
"It's a privilege to be chosen in this role. It's one I don't take lightly. I know Coach Saban's been working hard to make sure that this program is in a great spot for the next person to take over. He hasn't told me this but I think there's an intentionality that's been in place. You kind of figure out - I don't want to put words in his mouth - but I think you kind of know at some point, and you'll know when that point is that you'll want to make sure it's in a great place. As you can see just from this past season, that it's in a great place. Being in a room last night where I saw a team that's stuck together - Greg talked about 72 hours - I want you to put yourself in those guy's shoes. A legendary coach that they came to play for, and now what's next?
"I can't tell you how much I appreciate them already, and I've had multiple meetings last night and today with them, individually, leadership groups. I know how badly they want to continue the tradition, how they want to do it the right way. Them just getting to know me here in just a few hours has been a blast, and I can't wait for the journey that lies ahead. Coach Saban thank you for all you've done for laying the foundation for myself and the rest of this staff that we'll hire and these players to continue to build on what you've done here. So, thank you.
"He's the best in the business to ever do it. I'm just going to make sure that's all known that that's how I feel. 100 percent access, OK? To everything. I would be a fool if that wasn't the case. I would be a fool. I'm going to ask him that he shows up and makes sure that he gives me one thing everyday. I'm sure he's going to have ten, but I'm going to be good with that. But at least one thing that he sees that we can get better at.
"I also think that it's so important to understand that most programs don't even have one legend that's in their program or that's come through the years. We have, probably more than two if you really want to talk about it, but Coach Bryant, right? I talked to Coach Saban yesterday and he spoke of that. You know, that right there told me just how humble he is and how grateful he's been to follow in someone else's shoes and to continue to build on what we have here at Alabama.
"I have so many mentors that have helped me get to this spot. I'm not going to get into it, but every coach that I've sat in the film room with, a staff room when I was an assistant and then a head coach. The head coaches that I've worked for, they hold such a strong spot in my heart because they've all helped me get to the place where I'm at today.
"I'll get into the players and what I want to see in them, how we want them to grow while they're here in Alabama. I also want to make sure that the coaches that I continue to have the privilege to work with each and every day, each and every year, that they understand the commitment that I have to them to help them meet their aspirations and goals. Many of them want to be coordinators, many of them want to be head coaches and I'm looking forward to that journey for them.
"When I think about different words, and I have a few here that I'll bring to you. One of them is "embrace". I think you get the sense that embracing the tradition and embracing the athletic department is something that's very special to me. I also want you to know that you as a community, everyone here. I can't wait for my family and I to embrace you and feel that same thing back to us. I know that will be the case. I don't have to look much past last night when we flew in and the welcome and the reception that was there. It was so awesome. It was not overwhelming, but it was very close to it. I appreciate that.
"I also want to make sure our alumni know that I'll embrace them. That this will always be their place, this will always be their home. I know that so many that have gone through and played for Coach Saban and that should not change as far as how they feel about this place. We need you. The investment hours that have been put in, by me, compared to what has made this place what it is, for me, it's very little. I want to learn the stories. I want to learn all the great moments. I know many of them. I've watched from afar, but I know there's so many behind the scenes and things that are important to the tradition and the alumni. I can't wait to have you here and hear all your great stories along the way.
"I just want to reiterate my excitement. People have already asked, 'Why would you go to Alabama? Why?' I think there's a lot of really obvious answers, and I've already touched on that. When it comes to tradition and the history of the program. It's second to none. When I look at places that I want to be, it's about winning championships. That's an expectation that I cannot wait and accept as a privilege to try to uphold, winning SEC championships, winning national championships. That's an expectation and a love and an interest that I've always had and a passion that I'll have and looking forward to carrying on with our players and our staff and all of you here as we go through these years ahead.
"The resources, the facilities, everything that can be here to support our players and our staff, that's my role as a head coach is to provide that atmosphere and environment. And when you have the resources like you have here at Alabama, that makes my job easier, and I'm looking forward to utilizing and showing off these resources to those that want to be wearing the Crimson.
"A belief of mine when it comes to athletics is that it brings people together. Again, last night, people coming together, and then in much bigger fashion in this beautiful stadium here behind me. Bringing people together, bringing a community together. I"m learning about the enrollment of the university and how it's grown. I know that's a credit to what the football program has done but also to everyone else buying into the philosophical beliefs of this great university. When it comes to bringing people together, that is a passion of mine. There's something special about being a head coach and the investment that goes into trying to make all these different pieces fit, having the right people in those places and these facilities are awesome, but it's the people that makes the place special. It truly is. I felt that. I heard that from Greg when we talked that you hear, you all. You have made this special and it's not just about these beautiful resources, these beautiful facilities, so I'm looking forward to getting to know each and every one of you.
"I think alignment is important. So we're talking about why Alabama? The alignment from the president on through to Greg, to the head coach and on down. I just think that the alignment and just everything that we're all trying to accomplish together and locking arms and fighting the same fight that we all want and knowing that our passions are all the same. That alignment is critical. The programs and universities and all the different sports teams that have success, there's usually some form of alignment. We certainly have that on a very strong level, here at Alabama. I'm 100 percent convinced of that. When it comes to our goals, I shared with you it's to win the SEC and win the national championship. But how are we going to do that? We're going to do that with class and integrity, with academic excellence. That is my job to make sure we uphold the standard that's been set here at Alabama and to continue to build on that.
"When it's about winning, it's also about a culture. I will share with our guys that we already have here a culture that is contagious. You'll hear me say that a few times. I cannot wait to add to that and to continue to make it to where you can feel through the TV screen when someone's watching a game how hard our guys play and how much they love each other and care for each other and how badly they want to win for all of you. The culture will be contagious and more and more people, just as it's been, will want to continue to be a part of this.
"The last piece when it comes to developing players athletically, academically, socially and even spiritually, and that being our focus as a staff. In the end, we want to make sure that we're building better men. We want to build better men because someday, football will be over. Someday real life will hit you in the face and building better men in this time that we're going through, this phase in their life, it is one of the most influential that they will have. It is a privilege and an honor to be someone in a position that can have that influence. I don't take that lightly and I'll surround myself with a staff that will be great husbands, great fathers and great people to provide a template for our great players that come through here to understand what it looks like to be a man. That's an awesome goal. Our staff will have a lot of attributes and qualities and that will definitely be one of them. Developing athletically, academically, socially and spiritually.
"What's next as we build our team? Last night, just got to hear from some guys. There wasn't a lot of questions, especially as a whole team. Then you break off into little segments and then they start talking. That's what I want to hear. I want to hear what makes this place special. I want to hear about the traditions that I'm unaware of. I want to hear about all the things that really matter to them and engrain myself into what's been special about Alabama football.
"It all starts with relationships and communication, which builds the trust that we must have to step on the football field with great chemistry that we've seen years upon years upon years. It isn't just about talent. Talent gets you a long ways but the championship teams have something special. They have that 'it' factor and the relationships that we will build will help us have an accountability for each other. Accountability to ourselves. Accountability from coach to coach, coach to player, player to player, player to coach. We'll also form a brotherhood, a brotherhood that is so tight that anything that comes our way will not break us. We'll also be tough. We call these our three non-negotiables that we will stand by. The toughness piece is not just physical, which is what Alabama football prides itself on, but it will also be mental. Mental toughness, understanding how to handle adversity because we understand the challenge that it takes to win a national championship. We understand that it's not easy. It never is. Anything worth, anything at all - is hard. And we're looking forward to that journey to those challenges.
"When it comes to a style of football, I don't know what you've seen about how we've played, but obviously playing hard is a big piece of it. But what we've tried to do is always going to be around our personnel. Yes, we're going to recruit the best and the highest character guys, but we're going to be able to have concepts and systems that are able to be adjusted to what we have and what our strengths are. As much as we have great players at every position, there are some positions that are stronger than others from year to year. We will be explosive, we can promise you that. We will be aggressive, we will attack. We understand that the game is meant to be played one way and that's being physical and dominating the line of scrimmage and controlling it from both sides of the ball will always be a staple of our program.
"As we go through utilizing our personnel and having a dominant offense and defense along with fundamental special teams, I hope you guys enjoy coming to games and seeing how we play. And enjoying wanting to come in and cheering on and understanding that the guys that are wearing those helmets have a lot of talent, but they're really special people and pouring everything they can into it.
"When it comes to recruiting–and I could go on and on about how we will recruit– I understand it's the lifeblood of the program. We could have great coaches, but the guys on the field are the ones that make the plays. A relentless attitude, starting with, first and foremost, myself and then leading to our staff is what it's going to take to be the best of the best here with the tough competition here in the SEC and to win a national championship. I'm looking forward to rolling up my sleeves and going to work.
"I want to say one more thing because this is very important to me, and I wanted to say it last. I knew I might be emotional, I'm not sure. I need to thank some people back in Washington. It's a special place to me, it really is. This is one of the few places, maybe the only place that I would have ever left to come coach at, because I understand what Alabama football is all about. Those guys that I sat in front of in a room yesterday, I know what they're going through because I saw the same thing less than 24 hours ago. I just want to tell everyone– because I know they're watching– I just want to tell those guys that I love you, and I miss you, and I want nothing but the best for everyone back there. The journey the last two years has been special. I'm looking forward to the new journey that lies ahead and the new challenges here. I cannot wait to roll up my sleeves with all of you, with our team and go to battle each and every day, each and every week, and each and every year. Thank you, and Roll Tide."
Live Updates:
- DeBoer on his pitch to returning players:
- DeBoer on Saban:
- The BamaCentral staff has transitioned to a media breakout room.
- DeBoer: "We understand the challenges it takes to win a national championship We understand that it's not easy It's hard."
- DeBoer: "When it comes to our goals, it's to win the SEC and a national championship. [...] When it's about winning, it's also about a culture. What we already have here is a culture that's contagious. I cannot wait to add to that."
- DeBoer calls the expectation of winning championships a 'privilege,' one that he is 'excited to uphold.'
- DeBoer: "You as a community, I can't wait for my family and I to embrace you."
- DeBoer says Saban has "100% access" to everything. "I would be a fool not to."
- Kalen DeBoer: "Coach Saban, we just talked for the first time yesterday. I've already been in his ear a couple times today."
- Greg Byrne says he met with Kalen DeBoer in Seattle two days ago. "I knew he was the right choice for the Crimson Tide."
[this story will be updated]
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