When Nick Saban officially announced the end of his tenure at the University of Alabama, fans began connecting the dots between the Crimson Tide and their former head coach's ex-assistants.

Widely considered the best head coach in college football history, Saban spread his roots all over the football world, with college and NFL teams alike featuring his former assistants on their staffs.

So why, then, did Alabama opt to hire Kalen DeBoer, who made his bones at the University of Washington, before landing in Tuscaloosa instead of one of his former assistants like Bill O'Brien, Lane Kiffin, or Mario Cristobal? Well, in an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show, Saban weighed in on that very situation, noting that at the time, none of his major assistants were available for the job.

“Well, I think if somebody was available. I’m not sure if anybody was available that they could’ve maybe gotten to come here. And I do think that Kalen DeBoer is a really good coach and he’s doing a good job here,” Saban said.

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“This is a tough transition, especially in this environment in college football, in terms of players coming and going. I think there was something like 26 players that got in the portal when I retired. So that’s a lot to overcome for anybody. And it’s a lot to overcome for even one of the guys that formally coached for me. I fully support Greg Byrne and what he decided to do and how he’s done it. I’m hoping to get the ship going in the right direction here. It’s not bad to get in the playoffs and finish in the final eight, but not the expectation around here, which is tough to live up to sometimes.”

Would O'Brien, Kiffin, Cristobal, or Steve Sarkisian have taken the Alabama job and placed their product in direct comparison to one of the best to ever do it if they were available? Or did it make more sense to prove themselves away from Alabama in order to establish their own legacy? In 2024, fans saw how that shook out; when DeBoer's run is done, fans will see if a former Saban assistant is willing to take on the role next.