Whenever Nick Saban speaks, Alabama fans listen. 

And this time, Saban has gone out of his way to praise his successor, Kalen DeBoer.

There was a whole lot being said about DeBoer after Week 1. From fans, media personalities, one fan even suggested that if she won the lottery, she’d use her money to afford DeBoer’s contract buyout. 

It was a place that Alabama fans weren’t used to seeing. Saban brought them to the promised land, winning six National Championships and earning national praise that he may be the greatest coach of all time.

So whoever was going to take over the legend of him, had massive shoes to fill in.

DeBoer isn’t a name that many had known of prior to his arrival at the University of Washington. The Huskies snuck up on the college football world in 2023 by having one of the more dynamic offensive attacks led by he and now-Alabama offensive coordinator, Ryan Grubb.

So the hope for Alabama was that maybe things wouldn’t be so bad. He wasn’t the grump that Saban sometimes portrayed, but he wasn’t an overly joyful fellow. Just an even-keeled man who loves the game.

The SEC turns you into a different animal.

Even though Florida State isn’t SEC territory, going in the hole 0-1 to start the season puts you behind in the conference.

But the way Alabama has bounced back has caught the eye of Saban.

On The Pat McAfee Show, where Saban is a weekly guest, he spoke about how impressed he was with DeBoer’s ability to turn the team around in such a quick manner.

"I think Kalen's done a fantastic job of taking an expectation that everybody had at Florida State, and the disappointment of that, and getting the team psychologically turned around to get away from playing. I thought they played with a lot of anxiety at Florida State… Sometimes that can affect the players' focus on, 'What do I need to do to win?' They're so worried about the outcome, they create a bunch of anxiety because of the expectation.”

It was clear how distraught, embarrassed and disappointed the players were about the loss, that DeBoer managed to ignite a fire out of them that not many thought was possible.

Safety Bray Hubbard was the whipping boy of Week 1. He was a player that fans expected him to give 110%, and when he wasn’t there was a feeling of despair around Gump Nation.

But Hubbard dispelled those fears and after the win against Georgia, he made it known that DeBoer was doing everything he can to get the team motivated.

“That dude, he puts a freaking fire in us… To have a coach like him, that’s full of energy, I mean that's huge.”

DeBoer may have had a more fiery personality behind closed doors in previous stints. But we’re not in the Pac-12 anymore, you need to be able to show some zest, or else they’ll chew you up.

DeBoer’s learned his lesson, from the ghosts of his past, and now there’s yet another one he has to face this Saturday.