You want to talk about pressure? How’s this:
You’re 30 years old and a first-time head coach. You replaced a legend at your alma mater and your mentor, and the local newspaper writes that you have “enormous shoes to fill.” The media pick your team as the overwhelming favorite to win the conference.
Fast forward to 15 years later. It’s 2020. You’re a first-time Division I coach, and your inaugural season is played amid a pandemic.
A couple years later, you make your Power Five coaching debut. You inherit a program that went 4-8.
Through it all, you never experience a losing season. You win nearly every game throughout nine seasons. You build a career that results in Alabama hiring you to replace the irreplaceable.
No pressure, right?
Kalen DeBoer frames it as opportunity.
“Embracing the moment is a privilege that you get that comes along with being at a place like Alabama,” DeBoer, Alabama’s first-year coach, told me recently during an exclusive interview. “So, enjoy it.”
DeBoer, 49, faced pressure at every stage of his career. Each time, he proved he’s a smashing success.
That first coaching job at Sioux Falls, DeBoer’s alma mater? DeBoer won 67 games and three NAIA national championships in five seasons.
The pandemic season at Fresno State launched a two-year run that springboarded DeBoer to Washington. There, he steadied a program in disarray and catapulted UW to the national championship game at warp speed.
None of this, let’s acknowledge, matches the pressure DeBoer will encounter at Alabama as he succeeds the GOAT. If he starts slowly at Alabama, DeBoer will face enough heat to make even the believers sweat in church.
To coach in Nick Saban’s shadow, while Saban retains an office at Alabama and pontificates on ESPN, is to accept one of the most high-pressure assignments in college football…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/waiting-alabamas-kalen-deboer-wilt-090535786.html
Author : The Tuscaloosa News
Publish date : 2024-07-09 09:05:35
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