Nick Saban Evaluates Alabama's Season, Speaks on Success of Former Assistants

The former Crimson Tide coach joined ESPN's "The Pat McAfee Show," this week to discuss the disappointing end to Alabama's 2025 season, as well as the success of his former assistants.

Nov 8, 2025; Lubbock, Texas, USA; Former Alabama Crimson Tide head coach and current ESPN College Game Day host Nick Saban before the game between the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the Brigham Young Cougars at Jones AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Michael C. Johnson-Imagn Images | Michael C. Johnson-Imagn Images

Just a week removed from Alabama's lopsided Rose Bowl loss to Indiana, former Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban joined ESPN's "The Pat McAfee Show," to discuss the season as a whole, as well as dive into a question that has permeated throughout the Alabama fan base since last Thursday's game.

After Saban's retirement in 2023, many voices-- not only within the fan base, but the media as well-- predicted that the Tide would target one of the legendary coach's former assistants, whether it be Dan Lanning at Oregon, Steve Sarkisian at Texas or Lane Kiffin, who was at Ole Miss at the time.

Instead, Alabama opted to hire Kalen DeBoer, fresh off a national championship appearance at Washington, and while the results have certainly been far from catastrophic, the Tide has failed to live up to expectations in his first two seasons at the helm.

Now, with the College Football Playoff down to four teams, all of which are led by former Saban assistants, many fans are beginning to wonder if the Tide made the right choice for its head coach.

Saban spoke with McAfee about the success of his coaching tree, and went into a bit of detail regarding Alabama's decision to not hire one of his former assistants at the time of his retirement.

"I think that Kalen DeBoer is a really good coach and he's doing a good job here..

The expectation around here is tough to live up to sometimes" ~ Coach Saban #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/jMd8Fuq5NE

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) January 7, 2026

He said, "I think if somebody was available, [Alabama] could have maybe gotten them to come here, but I think Kalen DeBoer is a really good coach, and is doing a good job [in Tuscaloosa]."

Saban continued, "This is a tough transition, especially in this environment... I think 26 players got in the portal when I retired, so that's a lot to overcome for anybody, and would have been a lot to overcome for even one of the guys that coached for me."

"So, I fully support Greg Byrne and what he decided to do, and I hope they get the ship going in the right direction. It's not bad to get into the playoffs and finish in the final eight, but it's not the expectation around [Alabama]."

"All the teams that are left in the College Football Playoff play physical football..

They have a lot of mental toughness and I think that's contributed to their success" ~ Coach Saban#PMSLive pic.twitter.com/9Ipf7JhiN3

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) January 7, 2026

He continued speaking on the success of his former assistants, highlighting the aspects of his own philosophy that he sees within each program, saying, "One thing I see in all these teams is that they have a mentality about them to play physical football. They have a lot of mental toughness in how they play and compete in the game, and I think that's contributed to their success."

Through two seasons under DeBoer, Alabama has seemingly lacked that same mentality in how it approaches the game. Offensively, the Tide has been unable to effectively establish a run game, and on the defensive end, while there has been some undeniably high level performances, the play within the trenches has left a lot to be desired.

The former Washington head coach is set to enter his third season in Tuscaloosa this fall, and with it, comes arguably the most pressure he has faced throughout his career. Whether or not DeBoer can 'get the ship going in the right direction,' has yet to be seen, but he could be running out of time to do so.