Greg Byrne's Sunday mornings in the fall remain consistent. He calls Alabama football coach Kalen DeBoer .
Byrne, the Alabama athletics director, said he talks about many things, not only the Alabama football win or loss the day before.
"But, you know, I always say, after you win, the sun's a little brighter, the weather's a little nicer the next day," Byrne told the Tuscaloosa News on Wednesday.
For the past three weeks, the sun's been a bit brighter for DeBoer and the Alabama football program.
After two road losses in three weeks to Vanderbilt and Tennessee , the Crimson Tide bounced back with a home win against Missouri and a dominant road win against LSU, bringing Alabama back into the conversation for one of the 12 slots in the expanded College Football Playoff.
Through it all, Byrne said DeBoer's been exactly what he was hired to be: someone who would respect what Alabama has been historically, but one who is confident in who he is.
"I think he's done a good job of being very respectful to the history," Byrne said. "He hasn't touched the uniforms, right? And no plans to do that. And at the same time too, he's brought his own little unique approaches to it."
DeBoer is not Nick Saban, nor was he hired to be, Byrne said. That difference has shown up from blaring music on the practice field to how staff meetings are handled.
"One's not right and one's not wrong," Byrne said. "But he's doing things while still very much respecting who we are, what we represent. But at the same time, too, being able to find things that he can continue to evolve the program in ways that fit him and his leadership."
The non-negotiables for Saban's replacements were clear Byrne said, non-negotiables that DeBoer met in the interview room, and continue to meet nine games into his tenure with the Crimson Tide.
Byrne needed a good football coach, a criteria he felt DeBoer met with his 104-12 record in nine seasons as a head coach. Byrne needed a program-builder, one who cares about his roster as players, people and students.
"You can tell that he embraces that," Byrne said of DeBoer. "And that (he) values the importance of having it be a a culture where young men want to be a part of it."
This is the coach Byrne says he speaks to each Sunday morning after an Alabama football game day.
Win or loss, Byrne said, DeBoer has remained steady. But that doesn't mean DeBoer doesn't bring a competitive edge.
"When we lose, it bothers the heck out of him, just like it does our team and just like it does our fans," Byrne said. "He's passionate about wanting to have great success with our program.
"That comes out in our conversations." Colin Gay covers Alabama football for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at cgay@gannett.com or follow him @_ColinGay on X, formerly known as Twitter.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Greg Byrne talks Kalen DeBoer performance in Alabama football first year
