It’s the one guy that’s touched more people, at least in my generation, in college football. Even though I’ve never worked with him, never coached against him, Coach Saban’s influence and impact has touched all of college football. Coaching turnover is a part of college sports, in general, but it is difficult to forecast whether one college football coach's departure will spark this level of change. By comparison, Michigan began its classes Jan. 10, more than two weeks before the Los Angeles Chargers hired Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh in the same role Jan. 25, and Michigan promoted Sherrone Moore to replace Harbaugh a day later.
UB is Lembo’s fourth job as a head coach and his first since 2015, when he had just completed his fifth season as Ball State’s coach. Lembo retained five coaches from the previous staff, including offensive coordinator Dave Patenaude and running backs coach Ray Pickering, who joined the Bulls at the beginning of January. None of them realized it at the time, but Saban’s retirement after one of the most iconic college football coaching careers started a seismic shift in college football over the next 11 days. The 2024 college football season is rapidly approaching, and fans are eager to watch their favorite teams take the field with a blank record, a clean slate, and a chance to make the College Football Playoffs and compete for a national championship. One team fans from across the country will have their eyes on is the Alabama Crimson Tide. DeBoer has done an exceptional job with roster management, recruiting and the transfer portal in the few months at the program’s helm.
Athletes in all sports would be eligible for payments and schools would be given the freedom to decide how that money is divvied up among sports programs. "The settlement, though undesirable in many respects and promising only temporary stability, is necessary to avoid what would be the bankruptcy of college athletics," said Notre Dame President Rev. John I. Jenkins. "There's no question about it. It's a huge quantum leap," said Tom McMillen, the former Maryland basketball player and congressman who has led an association of collegiate athletic directors the past eight years. Months after saying he did not want to be part of another rebuild, the respected veteran and longtime defensive captain is thrilled with how things are unfolding under new general manager Adam Peters and coach Dan Quinn.
That suggestion, along with many other possibilities, remain under discussion. The upcoming 2024 Alabama Crimson Tide football season is full of unknowns. A new head coach, Click4R.Com a new-look SEC and a new College Football Playoff format. How will all of this affect the team as they look to carry on the winning tradition it had for nearly two decades under the new-retired head coach Nick Saban?
Alabama had the chance to respond and tie the game after Tennessee's three-run fifth inning. Bailey Dowling followed it up with a ball crushed off the left field wall, but it bounced so hard that Giles was thrown out at third for the first out of the inning. Lauren Esman followed it up with another single up the middle to put runners on the corners with one out for Alabama's eight and nine-hole hitters.
Finishing the season a few games over .500 ought to be considered successful, but imagine if one of those wins was against the Alabama Crimson Tide. As has been the case for a while now, every team at every level will play its absolute best when facing Alabama. Getting the chance to take on the historical powerhouse on your home field is a great opportunity to make some memories and win an upset.
The Tide coaching staff didn’t just suffer losses from the transfer portal, a handful of immediate starters for the program transferred in, as well as some young, talented players who could contribute in the next few seasons. Following the news that legendary head coach Nick Saban would be retiring as the leader of the Alabama Crimson Tide football program, several players decided it was time to move on from Tuscaloosa—one of the notable being offensive tackle Kadyn Proctor. Alabama Crimson Tide football is under new leadership, as Kalen DeBoer takes over as the program’s head coach following the retirement of legendary coach Nick Saban. One of the biggest concerns regarding DeBoer was his recruiting abilities. Those have since been alleviated to a certain degree after the impressive offseason he’s had on the recruiting trail and the transfer portal.
Nick Saban developed a sometimes unbelievable amount of talent during his legendary Alabama career and will continue to see some of his former players trickle into the NFL over the next couple of years. As it stands, his Crimson Tide program accounts for by far the most professional players of any school. From Derrick Henry to Tua Tagovailoa and Minkah Fitzpatrick to Josh Jacobs, a wide swath of the league’s biggest names played its college ball under Saban’s tutelage in Tuscaloosa. The SEC and Big Ten are the only two "power conferences" left where football is concerned, and this settlement is only going to widen the gap between those two leagues and everyone else.