Head coach kalen deboer Wife Nicole Tendler Makes Announcement…….
Reacting to Nick Saban’s NIL thoughts to Congress, plus Kalen DeBoer on being at Alabama
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While some grievances go to Capitol Hill to get solved, others get hashed out the good old-fashioned way. With a Tweet.
Saban Visits Congress
NIL hearing sparks debate
On Tuesday, former Alabama coach Nick Saban spoke at a Congressional hearing about name, image and likeness and college athletics. Although congressional NIL hearings are rarely newsworthy, this one spurred plenty of reaction. Let’s start by recapping what Saban said:
“The whole idea that we’ve created a pay-for-play model in college athletics has created some issues in being able to actually have a program and a system (that) creates some kind of a balance. All venues have some guidelines and rules that create some kind of competitive balance, which right now, we don’t have in college athletics. It’s whoever wants to pay the most money, raise the most money, buy the most players, is going to have the best opportunity to win.”
Saban said NIL “is a great opportunity for (players) to create a brand for themselves” but mentioned concerns that the current landscape deters player development: “All these things that I believed in, for all these years, 50 years of coaching, no longer exist in college athletics. It was always about developing players, it was always about helping people be more successful in life.”
He then shared an anecdote about his wife, Terry, approaching him before he retired, saying: “All they care about is how much you’re going to pay them. They don’t care about how you’re going to develop them, which is what we’ve always done, so why are we doing this?”
In reaction, ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt said: “It’s fantastic that players get to make money now. But every single coach, in every single revenue sport, if you’re paying attention, is saying the same thing. This is the only thing that any recruit is asking about now when they’re coming on visits.”
So, is it fair for coaches to jump ship for millions while 18- to 22-year-olds are expected to ignore the dollar signs? No, but that might not be the real issue here.
In a well-written column yesterday, The Athletic’s Seth Emerson suggested maybe this debate isn’t really about paying athletes. It’s about control. The power dynamic has shifted in college athletics, and while athletes are getting compensated, the lack of regulation around NIL, the transfer portal and beyond has increased the chaos in college football.
While Saban no longer will be on the sidelines at Alabama, the Crimson Tide have started spring practice with their new coaching staff.
An Interview With DeBoer
New Alabama coach talks talent, NIL
New Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer joined Bruce Feldman and Stewart Mandel’s “The Audible” podcast yesterday for an exclusive interview about his start with the Tide. I picked out a few questions and DeBoer’s answers for our Until Saturday audience to enjoy.
What is your impression so far of the talent at Alabama?
“There’s no question, we’ve got a good-looking team right now. That doesn’t mean that we’re complete or we’re always working on the guys that we have within to develop and grow, and we have some really good young players I’m excited about for the years to come, but we also do have those guys that have been in the program and have taken a lot of snaps for us wearing the Crimson
Physically, there’s a presence about these guys that’s fun to be around. You can see that’s why the success has happened, and I’m looking forward to building on that.”
How are you navigating NIL? (An ode to our first section.)
“The times have changed, and you have to adjust and adapt. I think I’ve been able to do a good job with that, and I think our staff will have the type of personalities and type of want to just continue to keep the main thing the main thing and that’s coach these guys up. Understanding also that NIL is a part of it. The portal is a part of it. And so, one day at a time, I think we just got to keep working, keep doing what we do. And, find the hearts and minds of these guys.
“I think it’s one of those things where we all got into coaching for different reasons. Right? And we love the game, and we love impacting the lives of these guys that we get a chance to coach, and it’s fun seeing them 10, 15, 20 years from now and where they’ve gone to and the families that they’ve raised. But if you just try to really hone in on that in a moment we’re in, I think that’s the key. Not getting overwhelmed by the things you can’t control, but at the same time, also trying to help grow the game and make the game better.”
How do you define success at Alabama?
“That’s what is attractive about coming to Alabama, right? Coming where there are expectations. The alternative isn’t so much fun. It’s fun seeing a program grow and overcome obstacles or whatever might be at different places I’ve been able to coach at over the years, but this is the best of the best right here. Continuing on the tradition is what I’m really looking forward to doing and I think that the sky’s the limit. It’s always been that here, and the sky’s the limit for us to continue to grow and adapt and evolve.
“There are some things just because of how I coached and how I’ve seen things that are going to be different than Coach Saban. … But really, when it comes down to day-to-day, what we will be talking about within the program is what that process looks like and what must be done today to help us reach those goals and how tomorrow we need to be better than we were today and so forth. And if we do that, we’ll reach our goals.”
And what did DeBoer have to say about quarterback Jalen Milroe being at the facilities at 5 a.m.? You can listen or read the rest here.
