Alabama's Kalen DeBoer - 'Great honor' to carry on tradition - ESPN

DALLAS — Kalen DeBoer has been Alabama coach for six months, enough time to get settled into his new job and the massive expectations that come with it.

He would not have it any other way.

During his news conference Wednesday at SEC media days, he was asked what it was like following Nick Saban, who returned the Crimson Tide to elite status during his 17 seasons in Tuscaloosa, winning six national titles and nine SEC championships.

«I understand there's only one Coach Saban,» DeBoer said. «There will only ever be one Coach Saban. This program is special, and I take it as a great honor to be the one that gets to do everything we can to carry on the great tradition.

»But for me personally, it was just more about understanding that coaching football is coaching football. It's been just an awesome blessing to be a part of this program, to continue to have that expectation on us. The alternative is to be at places where there aren't expectations."

DeBoer knows what it is like to be at schools without such outsized expectations. In nine seasons as a head coach at NAIA Sioux Falls, Fresno State and Washington, DeBoer is 104-12. His rise from Sioux Falls has been well documented, as he worked in anonymity there to start his career, first as offensive coordinator, then as head coach from 2005 to 2009. His job responsibilities were many, although he did clarify Wednesday that he never drove the team bus.

«I love how the stories get better and better of all the responsibilities I had,» he said. «I did not drive the bus. But that's what the stories and the legends will be down the road. I know this: I would not trade my journey for anything. It gives me an appreciation for where I'm at. It gives me an appreciation for the people I