Sometimes the most important voices in Alabama football aren’t the loudest, they’re the ones who actually lived it.
Standing on the field at Hancock Whitney Stadium after Senior Bowl practice in Mobile, a former Alabama defensive tackle gave Crimson Tide fans something real: perspective.
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When asked about his former head coach, Kalen DeBoer, Keenan didn’t sugarcoat a thing.
He went straight at the noise, the doubt, and the constant second-guessing that’s followed DeBoer since the day he took the job.
“You come in after Saban and try to do it,” Keenan said. “Everyone has this and that to say. The man did a great job in just two years.”
That’s not a talking point.
That’s lived experience.
Following Nick Saban isn’t just a coaching change, it’s stepping into the most impossible job in college football. Every move is magnified. Every loss is dissected. Every rumor becomes a headline. And yet, DeBoer walked into Tuscaloosa focused, steady, and committed to the players in that locker room.
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Keenan made that crystal clear when he addressed one of the biggest narratives surrounding DeBoer early on.
“He never said he wanted to go to another school, he made it clear that he said that,” Keenan stated. “Coach DeBoer has been nothing but the greatest coach ever, as far as getting his players going and connecting with his players, and then allowing his best players to be his best players.”
That’s the part fans sometimes miss.
Players know when a coach is real. They know when a coach connects, listens, and empowers them. And those things matter just as much as play calls and press conferences.
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Keenan didn’t stop there.
“So coach DeBoer, I don’t have a bad thing to say about him. He was locked in the day he took the job. He was under a lot of fire and all that stuff, but I promise you he’s going to come out of it way stronger, and a lot of people are going to eat the words that they had to say about him.”
That’s a former Alabama player, on the biggest all-star stage of the pre-draft process at the Senior Bowl, telling the truth without hesitation.
Alabama football has always been built on trust, toughness, and belief inside the building.
And when voices like Keenan’s speak up, it should remind everyone watching from the outside: this program is still strong, the locker room is still bought in, and Kalen DeBoer isn’t backing down.
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He’s just getting started.
