What does Kalen DeBoer bring? What does he not bring? Will his wiz of an offensive coordinator, Ryan Grubb, come along? And are his shoulders broad enough to bear the weight of replacing a living legend ?
On his first day on the job, there were myriad questions about Alabama football 's 28th head coach. But let's put this one to rest right now: Can he recruit in the South, where he has no ties whatsoever?
Answer: It just doesn't matter.
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To be clear, recruiting in the South matters greatly. But what doesn't matter is whether he can pick up the phone and chum around with a high school coach to get his foot in the door with a top recruit. Regional and state recruiting ties don't water the grass like they used to. Money matters. When NIL deals talk, long-time relationships with high school coaches walk.
Like it or hate it − and make no mistake, Nick Saban hated that particular aspect of NIL − that's the reality. And it's a reality that should help DeBoer to succeed where the bygone reality might have caused him to fail.
On Saturday, UA Director of Athletics Greg Byrne was taking his final question from reporters when DeBoer walked into the room to take his first. Mid-answer, Byrne spotted DeBoer walking in, and caught him up to speed on the question.
"They're asking me about you not having ties in the South, and how that works," Byrne said to the coach before completing his answer to the room at large. "I just think it's an added bonus if you have that, but if you look at the criteria and what you're looking for, if that's a non-starter, I think that's very short-sighted in what you do."
The letters NIL didn't appear anywhere in that response, but they definitely appear between the lines. And that's not to put words in Byrne's mouth. But unless the NCAA can toss a lasso around the raging bronco that is recruiting in the NIL era, DeBoer's prowess as a recruiter − like any other coach − is going to be powered more by the NIL war chest at his program's disposal than by his ability to build relationships at Southern high schools.
Covering recruiting is largely how I broke into sports writing. That was around 1994, when a college coach's relationship with a high school coach, if strong enough, could lock the door for any other school wanting a particular recruit. Was there some old-school NIL money being handed out behind that locked door in those days? Of course there was. But that was 30 years ago.
By 2004, things like television exposure began to matter more to recruits more. By 2014, the draw diversified even more.
But now, in 2024, the draw has crystalized. Now it's mostly about the size of the bag. For all the legitimate questions that remain about how DeBoer will fare at Alabama , and some of them can't be answered for a couple years or more, the Southern ties question is moot.
Scratch it.
Or you can scratch a check.
Tuscaloosa News columnist Chase Goodbread is also the weekly co-host of Crimson Cover TV on WVUA-23. Reach him at cgoodbread@gannett.com. Follow on Twitter @chasegoodbread.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Can Alabama football's Kalen DeBoer recruit the South? It doesn't matter
