It’s a new era in Tuscaloosa. A very new era.

Kalen DeBoer and Nick Saban run a different ship. That much, we already know. In his 17 seasons on the job, Saban famously never allowed media access to practice or assistants. DeBoer already offered media access to practice and assistants.

Stunning, I know. We’ll wait and see if DeBoer changes course on that, but for now, there’s no evidence that all of Alabama’s deepest secrets have been released.

DeBoer is going to operate his way, for better or worse. We’ll play the results on that. That’s how this works.

What else will DeBoer do that Saban never did? I’ve got 5 (ish):

1. Make a single comparison

True story: The first question I ever asked Saban was a comparison question. Don’t ask me what it was about because the second he started with “I don’t do comparisons,” I blacked out and kicked myself for the rest of the day after committing a cardinal Saban sin.

He might not be pulling out comps like Bill Simmons, but I can’t imagine that DeBoer will be as anti-comp as Saban was. Nobody is. Maybe I’ll test this theory the first time I’m in that setting with DeBoer.

“Kalen, how would you compare the coffee in Seattle to what you’ve had in Tuscaloosa so far?”

If he answers that ridiculous question, theory confirmed.

2. Win 15 games in a season

People forget that Saban never accomplished that feat. Jim Harbaugh did. Kirby Smart did. Dabo Swinney did. Some are saying that Saban falling short of a 15-win season should strip him of his “G.O.A.T.” title.

Relax. We’re joking here.

Saban had undefeated seasons in 2009 and 2020, but in both of those seasons, 15 games wasn’t even a possibility. I believe both would have gone 15-0 if that was a possibility.

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Of course, going exactly 15-0 won’t be possible in the 12-team or 14-team Playoff. Why? Even if Alabama gets a bye — an undefeated SEC team is getting a bye — it’d still be a 12-game regular season, 1 conference title game and at least 3 Playoff games. As long as that scheduling model exists, 15-0 is now off the table.

What’s on the table is 15 wins. DeBoer can go 15-1 en route to a title. Alternatively, he can go 15-1 without winning a title. As we know, those years aren’t exactly celebrated in T-Town (the “T” stands for “title).

3. Have a full cycle recruiting class that ranks outside of the top 5

Saban, of course, never had a class rank worse than No. 5. That includes the 2024 class, which was mostly signed before he called it a career (DeBoer signing 5-star WR Ryan Williams was a big deal). DeBoer’s lack of Southern roots was a hot topic of conversation across the sport. Even if he significantly improves as someone who has never signed a top-25 class, it feels inevitable that he’ll be the one that ends Alabama’s streak of 17 consecutive top-5 classes.

To be fair, DeBoer has won everywhere he’s been. He’s also never been at places where recruiting even top-15 classes is “the standard.” It’s still too early to tell how he’ll handle what many consider to be his biggest hurdle. Does a top-5 class instead feel like an outlier? And can DeBoer still lead a yearly Playoff team without top-5 classes?

We don’t know. We do know there’ll be a lot of attention paid to that.

4A. Have a scoring defense that ranks outside of the top 30

Think about this: In 17 seasons, Saban’s defenses always ranked in the top 30. That’s the top 1/4 of the sport. Even at their absolute worst (2007 and 2021), Alabama never allowed more than 22 points per game for a Saban season. Only 2 of Saban’s 17 Alabama defenses ever allowed 20 points for a season. In 2023 alone, 113 FBS teams allowed at least 20 points per game. Insane.

I’ve got news for everyone — that’s ending at some point. Maybe it’ll happen as soon as 2024. Dare I say, even as a Kane Wommack believer, Alabama might have more of a middle-of-the-pack defense in Year 1.

If that’s paired with a top-5 offense, though? It might not be a death sentence in the way that some would assume. DeBoer’s offenses averaged 38 points per game the last 2 seasons and he’s averaged at least 31.8 points at 3 different places the past 6 years.

But we’re seeing a shift that could feel a bit more like 2021 than the 2010s.

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4B. Not have a first-team All-SEC defender

That doesn’t get talked about enough. Alabama had a first-team All-SEC defender at season’s end in every year of the Saban era. How much of that was just because of his reputation? Maybe some guys would’ve had a tougher time earning that award if they were at Mizzou or Mississippi State, but I can’t find an example where the streak was extended just because of that.

To be clear, this isn’t an indictment on DeBoer. He had 2 first-team All-Pac-12 defensive guys both in 2022 and 2023. It’s just an unprecedented level of defensive success that Saban had. Georgia technically didn’t have an AP first-team All-SEC guy in 2019, and that was for a unit that finished No. 1 in America in scoring defense. It’s not always a given that those superstar players are on every defense.

Well, unless you’re Saban.

5A. Take the podium with a Pepsi bottle

Nah. Just kidding.

DeBoer already debunked that possibility by showing up to his first media availability press conference with a Coke bottle at the podium.

I will say this, though. Are we sure that DeBoer is going to make that his thing, too? Like, is there a possibility that he was just paying tribute to Saban and that he’ll actually do away with the Coke bottle and instead arrive with his own signature beverage? I wouldn’t rule it out, but it probably depends more on what the athletic department has as a primary drink provider.

If I’m DeBoer, I don’t make any drastic changes. Maybe start with a Cherry Coke. Then maybe go without a drink for a while until people forget about it. Win a title and put out any drink you want.

I’m now rooting for DeBoer to win a ring simply so we can have the possibility that we see a bottle of “Surge” on the Alabama podium.

5B. Hold back a curse word

Look. I get that DeBoer isn’t a curse guy. I’m not really, either. There’s no shame in that.

But even Gus Malzahn had his moments when he’d let it slip. Not publicly, but privately. DeBoer will have those moments, too. It’s just about whether they’ll be captured.

If Alabama gets left out of the 12-team Playoff and DeBoer is all over the hot seat talk in a given season, “dagummits” are fading faster than Saban’s straw hat.