Colin Cowherd, “Greatest Hire After a Legend in the History of CFB is DeBoer After Saban”

Kalen DeBoer has the Alabama Crimson Tide on the precipice of making the College Football Playoffs for the second consecutive season after a 31-13 win over the LSU Tigers last Saturday. The Crimson Tide will need to handle its business over the next three weeks against Vanderbilt, UT-Chattanooga, and Auburn, but with a No. 3 ranking by the College Football Playoff committee on Tuesday, Alabama looks prepped to coast to another playoff appearance.

DeBoer's success at Alabama after making the CFP last season and poised to do it again this season has caught the attention of Fox Sports national show host Colin Cowherd, who says the hiring of Kalen DeBoer is the best move Alabama could have made after seven-time national champion Nick Saban retired in January 2024.

"The greatest hire after a legend in the history of college football is DeBoer after Saban," Cowherd said on Thursday. "My take is Saban was the best coach in college football, and Kalen DeBoer is a more public Chris Petersen.

"If you ask coaches about Chris Petersen, they're like, 'Gah.' Nobody wanted to play Boise State with Chris Petersen."

DeBoer was tasked with replacing the best college football coach of all time. A seven-time national champion and 11-time SEC champion, Nick Saban. Very few people would have had the gall to follow up Saban at Alabama, especially when the Crimson Tide's roster was ransacked in the transfer portal following Saban's departure. In DeBoer's first season, the Tide went 9-4, defeating then-No. 2 Georgia at home and going on the road to dismantle No. 15 LSU.

In year two, the Crimson Tide finished 11-4, winning 10 games in the regular season before appearing in the SEC Championship. Alabama went on the road, coming back from 17 points down to defeat the Oklahoma Sooners to become the first team to win a road playoff game. Alabama's season ended in the Rose Bowl.

As the Crimson Tide prepares to face Vanderbilt on Saturday, DeBoer has Alabama 7-2 with wins over ranked Kentucky, South Carolina, Mississippi State, and LSU. The College Football Playoff committee ranked Alabama No. 3 in Tuesday's rankings, positioning the Tide in prime position to make a deep playoff run in year three under DeBoer.

Joel Klatt, who was on the air with Cowherd, pushed back, saying Jimbo Fisher followed Bobby Bowden at Florida State and won a national championship. Cowherd rebutted.

"We know he's great. Charles Barkley didn't win a title, Dan Marino didn't; it can't be all about that.

"Urban [Meyer] to Ryan Day was pretty damn strong, but Saban to Kalen DeBoer - Kalen DeBoer inherited a different culture, so you can't say 'well, he didn't win a title.' Bama's got middle of the SEC money."

Alabama Director of Athletics Greg Byrne was tasked with the hardest job of any AD: replacing the greatest coach of all time. Through three years, Alabama seems to be in prime position to continue as a contender under DeBoer.

No. 3 Alabama will travel to Nashville, Tennessee, this Saturday, November 14, to take on the Vanderbilt Commodores. Kickoff is scheduled for 11:45 a.m. CT on the SEC Network.

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Wyatt Fulton is the Tide 100.9 DME and Brand Manager, primarily covering Alabama Crimson Tide football and men's basketball. For more Crimson Tide coverage, follow Wyatt on X (Formerly known as Twitter) at @FultonW_.