Nick Saban gives reality check to $87 million college football head coach

Alabama finished the 2025 campaign 11–4 overall, 7–1 in the SEC, under second-year head coach Kalen DeBoer.

The Tide reached the College Football Playoff but were routed 38–3 by No. 1 Indiana in the Rose Bowl (CFP quarterfinal), marking the worst postseason defeat in program history.

When asked on The Pat McAfee Show whether Alabama should have hired someone from his coaching tree, Nick Saban defended DeBoer.

"I do think that Kalen DeBoer is a really good coach and doing a good job here," Saban said. "This is a tough transition, especially in this environment that we live in in college football, in terms of players coming and going."

"I think there was like 26 players that got in a portal when I retired. So that's a lot to overcome for anybody. And it would have been a lot to overcome for even, you know, one of the guys that formerly coached for me."

"It's not bad to get into playoffs and finish in the final eight, but that's not the expectation around here, which is tough to live up to sometimes," Saban added.

"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

DeBoer rose through the ranks at his alma mater, the University of Sioux Falls, where he served as offensive coordinator (2000–04) before becoming head coach (2005–09).

At Sioux Falls, he went 67–3 and won three NAIA national championships (2006, 2008, 2009), earning multiple NAIA/AFCA Coach of the Year honors.

He then moved into FCS/FBS coaching as Southern Illinois’ offensive coordinator (2010–13) and later served as an FBS offensive coordinator at Fresno State and Indiana before taking the Fresno State head-coaching job (2020–21), where he went 12–6.

DeBoer rebuilt Washington (2022–23), compiling a 25–3 record, winning the Pac-12, reaching the College Football Playoff national title game, and collecting national coach-of-the-year awards.

He was widely praised for offensive scheming and quarterback development, which, along with his success at Washington, were viewed as the primary reasons Alabama hired him to succeed Saban in January 2024.

However, his first season (2024) ended 9–4, and his second (2025) finished 11–4, culminating in a 38–3 CFP quarterfinal loss to Indiana.

Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Kalen DeBoer. — Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Kalen DeBoer speaks in a press conference after the 2026 Rose Bowl | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Since a season marked by ups and downs, including bad road losses and the Rose Bowl blowout, DeBoer’s name has surfaced in coaching search chatter.

Media outlets and coaching rumor boards have linked him to openings at Penn State, Michigan, and other Power Five programs, even as DeBoer has publicly downplayed interest in other jobs and emphasized his commitment to Alabama.

One complicating factor for any potential departure is his contract, as DeBoer signed an eight-year, $87 million deal in 2024, which carries a total buyout of $60.8 million, one of the largest in college football.

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