For the love of all things houndstooth, everyone just calm down.

It’s bad enough that Alabama just lost the greatest coach in college football history; now the unique world Nick Saban built is imploding behind him as he walks away.

Or so it would seem.

Yes, everyone, Alabama has lost players to the transfer portal since new coach Kalen DeBoer was officially hired last weekend. It also lost players prior to Saban announcing his retirement.

It would’ve lost more players had Saban decided to stay for another season. You know why?

Because players can, that’s why.

Because there’s free movement and free money and new horizons and a fresh start — and if the place before didn’t work, maybe the next one will.

But instead of seeing this for what it is — what happens at nearly every program that loses a coach for any reason — it’s now the end of days at Alabama.

Suddenly, Alabama is staring at the prospect of Mike DuBose or Mike Shula or Mike Price — does it really matter which Mike? — replacing the greatest ever, and it’s Shreveport for the Holidays, baby!

Come on, we’re smarter than this.

The majority of Alabama players who have left via the portal are the same type of players who wouldn’t have left prior to the NCAA’s grand experiment of NIL/free player movement. Or as most sports economists call it: free agency without any form, function or foresight of a plan.

Those are the 4- and 5-star players — the Da’Shawn Hands and Josh Jacobs of the world — who sat behind other 4- and 5-star players on Saban’s roster like game day traffic on I-359 and waited their turn. They waited, in part, because they didn’t want to sit out a season.

Honestly, does Derrick Henry stay at Alabama after 36 — thirty-freaking-six! — carries as a freshman? If NIL and free player movement were around in 2014, Henry would’ve been playing closer to home at Florida or Florida State.

Search your souls, Tide fan, you know it’s true.

So everyone just breathe a little, OK? The world isn’t ending, Alabama AD Greg Byrne didn’t make a mistake by hiring DeBoer (I would’ve preferred Lane Kiffin, but that’s another story).

You have a coach who, in any other time and place and coaching change in the modern era, would be considered a home run hire. He has won 104 of the 116 career football games he has coached, from Division II to Group of 5 to Power 5.

He has been a Power 5 coach for 2 seasons, and he won 25 of 28 games at Washington — and played in the national championship game earlier this month. In his 9 seasons, his teams have either won or played for a national title 5 times.

And now we’re going to panic?

Because starters Caleb Downs, Isaiah Bond, Amari Niblack and Kadyn Proctor jumped into the portal? Because a handful of recruits from the 2024-25 classes bailed?

Because more than 20 players from the 2023 roster are in the transfer portal? Welcome to life after Saban, Alabama.

Or as every program not named Alabama or Georgia calls it: ongoing, never-ending roster management.

We haven’t seen the last of Alabama players leaving for the transfer portal, nor Alabama adding from the portal. You see, this beautiful portal creature goes both ways.

Now there are openings on the Alabama roster, and the market is flush with players who were granted 30 days from the NCAA to find another school after their coaches were either fired, resigned/retired or changed jobs. Then there’s the spring portal, which opens for 15 days in April.

DeBoer is an attractive coach with an elite track record, coaching at one of the top 3 programs in college football. It’s not difficult to see how that plays out.

It’s not a stretch to see one day — in the very near future — Alabama adding starters from other programs. There’s nothing simple about the player procurement process.

Saban made it look easy because elite players wanted to play for him, and because he truly enjoyed the idea of recruiting and building relationships with young people. It not only led to the greatest run in college football history, it spoiled a fan base with the comforting knowledge that Saban had every base covered.

And now he doesn’t.

“When it comes to recruiting — and I can go on and on about how we will recruit,” DeBoer said at his introductory press conference. “I understand it’s the lifeblood of our program, and we can have great coaches, but the guys on the field are the ones that make the plays.”

Truer words have never been spoken.

Step off the ledge, Bama fan. A handful of starters and the 5-star recruit who decommitted isn’t going to send the Tide spiraling.

We’re all smarter than this.