Nick Saban apparently left 1 issue at Alabama for new coach to fix

New Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer will have a lot to live up to as he replaces Nick Saban coaching the Crimson Tide football team. He also will have one issue to apparently fix.

Name, Image and Likeness deals have become a major part of college football. Many schools allegedly are misusing NIL as a way to induce recruits in pay-for-play moves, which is against the rules. Whether it’s used in the way it was intended or not, Alabama reportedly does not have an NIL program that is humming, unlike many of its competitors.

According to USA Today columnist Dan Wolken, Alabama doesn’t have a “turnkey operation” for NIL. Instead, Saban was able to draw recruits on his own.

“One thing I’ve learned today is that Alabama’s NIL program is not set up to be a turnkey operation for the next coach. It was set up to rely on Saban as the draw. Without him, it’s going to take some work to get the money spigot flowing the way it is at some of Bama’s competitors,” Wolken wrote. “Point being, no matter who Alabama hires the notion that they’re walking into a place where the boosters and collectives have the player acquisition part taken care of just isn’t really accurate. Saban made it easy to get complacent on that front.”

One thing I’ve learned today is that Alabama’s NIL program is not set up to be a turnkey operation for the next coach. It was set up to rely on Saban as the draw. Without him, it’s going to take some work to get the money spigot flowing the way it is at some of Bama’s competitors

— Dan Wolken (@DanWolken) January 12, 2024

Making changes to and/or developing Alabama’s NIL situation might be a top priority for DeBoer.

Bama was second in recruiting behind Georgia for the 2024 year, according to 247 Sports’ rankings. DeBoer will need to work hard to retain the recruiting class. And NIL might have to be a big part of that to keep recruits who were expecting to play for Saban.