I have no inside information whatsoever. Still, I'll speculate on what's different.
First, as others, including Saban, have said, Saban's age was getting to be a problem in recruiting. DeBoer being only 49 is a huge help there. Remember, Saban himself had turned 55 the Halloween before he came to Tuscaloosa.
Second, Saban has also hinted that his age was hindering his ability to attract quality staff coaches. Point being, Saban was forced to spend a lot of time doing stuff that a higher-quality staff would have handled. Which took time away from something at which he's an all-time great -- recruiting.
DeBoer is a really really good coach. He might or might not challenge Saban for GOAT status -- realistically, you'd have to say the odds are probably against that. That doesn't mean he isn't danged good.
More important, by all accounts, DeBoer's staff represents a material upgrade from Saban's 2021-24 staffs. So there's a good chance that top to bottom overall coaching ability, from the Head Coach to the most anonymous GA, might be better.
Finally, Saban is still on staff making $500K a year, essentially as a consultant to DeBoer. I'm guessing that DeBoer is using Saban's talents as a recruiter to great advantage, with the occasional skull session on setting overall program strategy and how best to implement that strategy.
My Take On What's Different:
- DeBoer is really really good to begin with.
- DeBoer has a better staff than Saban had his last 4 years.
- DeBoer is only 49, so opponents can't use the HC's age against us anymore.
- Saban is still on staff and I'm betting he has his hands all in the recruiting process -- player evaluation (football skills and off-field reliability), identifying each recruit's hot buttons and pressing them home. Plus the fine details of conducting recruiting visits -- starting with professional level travel arrangements, on to meeting the player and family at the airport in an impressive fashion,and showing each player and family exactly what they want to see (hot buttons already having been identified).
Admittedly pure speculation on my part. But it's the simplest explanation I can manufacture that still ties up all the loose ends.
First, as others, including Saban, have said, Saban's age was getting to be a problem in recruiting. DeBoer being only 49 is a huge help there. Remember, Saban himself had turned 55 the Halloween before he came to Tuscaloosa.
Second, Saban has also hinted that his age was hindering his ability to attract quality staff coaches. Point being, Saban was forced to spend a lot of time doing stuff that a higher-quality staff would have handled. Which took time away from something at which he's an all-time great -- recruiting.
DeBoer is a really really good coach. He might or might not challenge Saban for GOAT status -- realistically, you'd have to say the odds are probably against that. That doesn't mean he isn't danged good.
More important, by all accounts, DeBoer's staff represents a material upgrade from Saban's 2021-24 staffs. So there's a good chance that top to bottom overall coaching ability, from the Head Coach to the most anonymous GA, might be better.
Finally, Saban is still on staff making $500K a year, essentially as a consultant to DeBoer. I'm guessing that DeBoer is using Saban's talents as a recruiter to great advantage, with the occasional skull session on setting overall program strategy and how best to implement that strategy.
My Take On What's Different:
- DeBoer is really really good to begin with.
- DeBoer has a better staff than Saban had his last 4 years.
- DeBoer is only 49, so opponents can't use the HC's age against us anymore.
- Saban is still on staff and I'm betting he has his hands all in the recruiting process -- player evaluation (football skills and off-field reliability), identifying each recruit's hot buttons and pressing them home. Plus the fine details of conducting recruiting visits -- starting with professional level travel arrangements, on to meeting the player and family at the airport in an impressive fashion,and showing each player and family exactly what they want to see (hot buttons already having been identified).
Admittedly pure speculation on my part. But it's the simplest explanation I can manufacture that still ties up all the loose ends.
