Putting it mildly, it’s been a fascinating exercise over the past few days watching the Alabama fan base slowly come to grips with life after Saban.
Honestly, it shouldn’t be that traumatic. The facilities, among the nation’s best, are still there. The framework, aka The Process, is baked into how they go about their business. Hell, Saban is still there to provide consulting support.
DeBoer is a good hire. Offensively, I think they’ve upgraded schemewise. After a misfire on retaining Robinson, DeBoer looks to have signed an excellent replacement at DC.
Yes, the portal has proven to be disruptive and ‘Bama has taken some hits on the recruiting trail. But you shouldn’t overlook how deep a talent pool DeBoer still has to draw from. The idea that the transition has left the cupboard bare is ludicrous to comtemplate.
Alabama ain’t turning into Auburn or Tennessee tomorrow, in other words.
What has rocked the Tide fan base’s world is the realization that Alabama has been what it’s been over the past 15 or so years isn’t because it’s Alabama. It’s because Nick Saban is the GOAT. The idea that a football program could lose a head coach of his stature without missing a beat simply isn’t realistic.
But when you’ve spent all that time in a cocoon convincing yourself that your program is immune simply because it’s Alabama, by damn, it’s a real shock to the system to discover that you’ve suddenly taken on the problems and consequences that all your peers face. It kind of reminds me of what the typical educated man of the Middle Ages must have faced when presented with proof for the first time that the Earth revolved around the sun instead of vice versa.
Alabama’s going to be fine, in other words. It’s just that be fine at a lower level than they were under Saban. Alabama the program, that is. The fan base is likely to be another story.
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