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Pat McAfee leaves Nick Saban stumped with cheeky Kalen DeBoer question

Joe Cox|
Nick Saban was surprised by an uncomfortable question from fellow College GameDay personality Pat McAfee.
Nick Saban was surprised by an uncomfortable question from fellow College GameDay personality Pat McAfee. | Gary Cosby Jr. / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Alabama Crimson Tide

Nick Saban is rarely rendered speechless, but for a moment, College GameDay's Pat McAfee had pulled that trick. In a discussion of how Saban would handle the struggles of his successor, Kalen DeBoer, the punter-turned-personality McAfee suddenly made the matter a little more personal with a question that froze Saban while drawing guffaws from several of the show's other commentators.

McAfee's question

Saban had been explaining how to help a struggling coach, discussing pulling them in and talking to them, trying to get them in the right frame of mind. McAfee saw an opening and asking the logical (if a bit edgy) next question.

Did you pull Kalen DeBoer into your office down there and say, 'Hey, Bud, these people are getting restless! Coach DeBoer, I love you, you've won everywhere, but boy, it is a hot seat down here?'
Pat McAfee

To Saban's credit, he visibly froze for only a short while, and immediately found his footing, saying, "He wants to do well and he's going to do everything he can to do well. We're going to support him to do that."

Saban's Conflicted Loyalties

Undoubtedly, McAfee's question froze Saban because he's cast in a variety of roles here. As an analyst for ESPN, he has to shoot straight regarding college football's biggest stories and struggles and DeBoer's season-opening 31-17 loss to Florida State certainly qualifies on that front.

But meanwhile, Saban also still works for the University of Alabama, serving as an adviser and drawing an annual salary of $500,000 for the work. Accordingly, he's unlikely to say too much to stoke the fires under DeBoer, as he's a paid part of the athletic department that hired him and is tasked with selling his hire to Tide fans.

DeBoer's struggles

That said, it is undisputed that DeBoer's Alabama tenure is not off to a glorious start. The loss last Saturday was his fourth loss as a two-touchdown favorite in a season and a game. Saban lost two such games between his second year, 2007, and the end of his Alabama tenure in 2023. McAfee was correct to ask the question, but Saban, unsurprisingly handled it like a pro. It remains to be seen how DeBoer handles the situation.

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Joe Cox
JOE COX

Joe is a journalist and writer who covers college and professional sports. He has written or co-written over a dozen sports books, including several regional best sellers. His last book, A Fine Team Man, is about Jackie Robinson and the lives he changed. Joe has been a guest on MLB Network, the Paul Finebaum show and numerous other television and radio shows. He has been inside MLB dugouts, covered bowl games and conference tournaments with Saturday Down South and still loves telling the stories of sports past and present.

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