Nick Saban urges Alabama fans to give 'support and positive energy' for Kalen DeBoer

Heading into his third season as Alabama head coach, Kalen DeBoer still isn’t shying away from the pressure of being Nick Saban’s successor. But as Crimson Tide fans hope to be in the national title race, the legendary coach called for “support and positive energy.”

DeBoer enters Year 3 with a 20-8 overall record in Tuscaloosa, including a 12-4 mark in SEC play. Alabama made it to the SEC title game last year before falling to Georgia and, after coming back to defeat Oklahoma in the first round of the College Football Playoff, fell to Indiana in a blowout at the Rose Bowl.

Of course, Saban won nine SEC titles during his decorated tenure at Alabama, including four of his last six seasons in Tuscaloosa. As fans hope to reach those heights again, Saban praised the passion of the Crimson Tide faithful while also saying they need to stay positive along the way.

“I think what Alabama fans need to understand is they have a tremendous amount of passion, and I respect that. And they have high expectations, and I respect that,” Saban said Wednesday on The Paul Finebaum Show. “And I would never want to work someplace that didn’t have high expectations. But I also think there’s an element of support and positive energy that goes with having a successful program.

“That’s what we always had with the fans and that helped us tremendously in recruiting, to get great players. It helped us develop them because the players were excited to play in front of that kind of energy and enthusiasm.”

Kalen DeBoer arrived at Alabama after leading Washington to a national title game appearance and a 25-3 record in Seattle. Taking over for arguably the greatest coach of all time wasn’t an easy task, especially after a number of players entered the transfer portal. Nick Saban knew that would be part of the transition and said DeBoer is doing a “really good job” with the program heading into 2026.

But with high expectations once again this coming year, Saban reiterated the need for Alabama fans to stay positive. Focusing on negativity, he said, won’t help the program succeed.

“I can’t speak for our fans,” Saban said. “But I think if they want to be successful, they need to be supportive of the people that are there right now in every way that they can because all the negative noise out there is not going to help us be successful. And I want to see us be successful.”