🏈 The Year 1 to Year 2 culture change under DeBoer...

[Brandon Van de Graaff]

For those that are regulars around here, you may remember some references we made last fall about how DeBoer was having to handle the team (and certain players) with soft gloves and was relying heavily on team leadership to help create the culture needed. That plan however hit some snags... most notably when Malachi Moore acted out on the field at the end of the Vandy game.

A lot of equity built up by (some) of the team leaders during the previous offseason and regime change evaporated as the season wore on. However, some other players, non-captains, stepped in and filled some voids, which was promising. But there was always a plan to run a tighter ship in year 2, when DeBoer and his staff had time to shape the roster in the way they needed it to be shaped. That plan was accelerated a bit after the OU loss, but was then fully implemented at the conclusion of the season.

Tonight, David Ballou gave a little insight on this very thing during his visit on Hey Coach...




Now, none of this means Bama is going undefeated. But, while some may have selective memories on it, pretty much across the board, Bama fans asked for (and in some cases demanded) a more disciplined and cohesive team.

If nothing else, that has been achieved going into this '25 season. And the really positive thing on top of that is based on other reports and feedback, this team as a lot of other arrows pointing in the right direction for the first time in a good while as well.

 

[TerryP]

The man comes out and tells them "my way"...and you can see how much weight an offhand comment can make: "they ain't going anywhere. " (sic)

 

[Justneedme81]

I just listened and man he said so much. Pretty much what we've been hearing : lack of accountability, people not wanting to do it right way.

 

[Nothing_But_A_Winner00]

 

[scottyhk]

Sounds like he (they) had enough of LANK

 

[Brandon Van de Graaff]

Sounds like he (they) had enough of LANK

That wasn’t really the message I was trying to convey. I’m sure there are some things Milroe would have liked to have done differently, but his actions, decisions, and play were but a small fraction of the overall issues within the team.

And let me be clear, I’m talking issues relative to what we as Bama fans are used to in the last (nearly) two decades. Issues are always going to happen, players get out of line, fires have to be put out, etc. But the overall slip in team culture the past 3 or 4 years (yes, it began under Saban) was something that as a whole, Bama just hasn’t had to deal with. While that cloudy culture may be (and often time is) the norm at other schools, it wasn’t here. And it isn’t real conducive (in most cases) to building championship programs.

Lastly, I think going forward, it’ll be easier for DeBoer and his stuff to maintain (and even build on) this renewed culture based on how they recruit and build relationships, which is in contrast to how Saban did it.

 

[Crimson&WhiteGecko]

Lastly, I think going forward, it’ll be easier for DeBoer and his stuff to maintain (and even build on) this renewed culture based on how they recruit and build relationships, which is in contrast to how Saban did it.

Maybe it is more obvious but can you offer an peek into that contrast?

 

[Brandon Van de Graaff]

Maybe it is more obvious but can you offer an peek into that contrast?

I’ll try my best to sum it up as best as I understand it later this evening when I get home and have a few minutes. Spoiler alert: It’s deeply rooted in relationship building.

 

[Brandon Van de Graaff]

Maybe it is more obvious but can you offer an peek into that contrast?

It's a strategy and approach that differs a bit from how Saban handled things, yet is proving to yield similar results... top 5 recruiting classes. It's a system that's been developed by DeBoer and Morgan during their time together and tweaked and improved as they've dealt with rising issues like NIL and the transfer portal. And while DeBoer hasn't been in one spot long enough (yet) to really see the long term results, it's pretty clear to see that much like under Saban, recruiting isn't going to be an issue under this regime. I'll sorta give the whole overview as I understand it, but as it pertains to team culture, it's all about having a good idea of the type of person they are bringing into the program so that there are fewer surprises (and issues) down the road. They believe building strong relationships during the recruiting process is the key to that.

While there is much more to it than this, here are the basics as it was relayed to me by someone inside the building who is very familiar with how the recruiting plan works...

This staff under DeBoer narrows their overall recruiting board down to a smaller pool of players than they did previously under Saban. This was DeBoer’s and Morgan’s philosophy from UW. They concentrate on that smaller pool of players and hammer the relationship building part of it. That’s something that’s harder if not impossible to do with a much larger group of recruits. They also don’t add new recruits to their board after the month of April (without some extreme extenuating circumstances), another break from the Saban philosophy. Building relationships is that important to them.

As it pertains to NIL/roster management, on their big board, they have positions slotted out with how much they are willing to pay (rev share and NIL) at each position and they don’t go beyond that set number. They believe their formula allows them to sign enough high end/elite players while also supplementing the class with lower ranked and lesser recruited/overlooked players. Those are players they have thoroughly evaluated and feel are underrated players that can be developed in the system who won’t bolt after a year or two on the bench, thanks in part to those strong relationships and trust that is built. But it’s the strong relations they build that they think helps get many of those guys, plus they have a better feel for the type of player/person they are getting since they’ve invested so much time in them.

Lastly, an effort is made to get them committed earlier (even if just privately) and then spend the late summer and fall on strengthening and cultivating those relationships (hosting them when possible, using their visits, going to their games, staying in constant touch, etc.) while starting strong on the next year's crop of recruits and not wasting time chasing commitments down all the way to NSD.

I feel like I've typed the word "relationship(s)" about 30 times in this post... but that is at the core of their overall strategy and efforts. Also, and I want to be clear here, while in some ways this staff recruits differently than Saban and his staffs did, that doesn't mean one way is necessarily better than the other. They are different paths that, at least in terms of recruiting, lead to the same red X on the map.

 

[scottyhk]

That wasn’t really the message I was trying to convey. I’m sure there are some things Milroe would have liked to have done differently, but his actions, decisions, and play were but a small fraction of the overall issues within the team.

I was referring to the first few comments he made. (I'm paraphrasing at best) But telling the team don't talk about, be about it. When I was young...the phrase was don't sing it...bring it. To me LANK seemed to be all talk, no go. Nothing about Milroe specifically, but if your gonna run with that slogan as a team...you ought to be able to back it up.

 

[BamaFan334]

It's a strategy and approach that differs a bit from how Saban handled things, yet is proving to yield similar results... top 5 recruiting classes. It's a system that's been developed by DeBoer and Morgan during their time together and tweaked and improved as they've dealt with rising issues like NIL and the transfer portal. And while DeBoer hasn't been in one spot long enough (yet) to really see the long term results, it's pretty clear to see that much like under Saban, recruiting isn't going to be an issue under this regime. I'll sorta give the whole overview as I understand it, but as it pertains to team culture, it's all about having a good idea of the type of person they are bringing into the program so that there are fewer surprises (and issues) down the road. They believe building strong relationships during the recruiting process is the key to that.

While there is much more to it than this, here are the basics as it was relayed to me by someone inside the building who is very familiar with how the recruiting plan works...

This staff under DeBoer narrows their overall recruiting board down to a smaller pool of players than they did previously under Saban. This was DeBoer’s and Morgan’s philosophy from UW. They concentrate on that smaller pool of players and hammer the relationship building part of it. That’s something that’s harder if not impossible to do with a much larger group of recruits. They also don’t add new recruits to their board after the month of April (without some extreme extenuating circumstances), another break from the Saban philosophy. Building relationships is that important to them.

As it pertains to NIL/roster management, on their big board, they have positions slotted out with how much they are willing to pay (rev share and NIL) at each position and they don’t go beyond that set number. They believe their formula allows them to sign enough high end/elite players while also supplementing the class with lower ranked and lesser recruited/overlooked players. Those are players they have thoroughly evaluated and feel are underrated players that can be developed in the system who won’t bolt after a year or two on the bench, thanks in part to those strong relationships and trust that is built. But it’s the strong relations they build that they think helps get many of those guys, plus they have a better feel for the type of player/person they are getting since they’ve invested so much time in them.

Lastly, an effort is made to get them committed earlier (even if just privately) and then spend the late summer and fall on strengthening and cultivating those relationships (hosting them when possible, using their visits, going to their games, staying in constant touch, etc.) while starting strong on the next year's crop of recruits and not wasting time chasing commitments down all the way to NSD.

I feel like I've typed the word "relationship(s)" about 30 times in this post... but that is at the core of their overall strategy and efforts. Also, and I want to be clear here, while in some ways this staff recruits differently than Saban and his staffs did, that doesn't mean one way is necessarily better than the other. They are different paths that, at least in terms of recruiting, lead to the same red X on the map.

Kind of crazy if you aren't there Junior year, you won't get a look from them. But then they have a quarterback not starting till his fourth year in the program.

 

[Justneedme81]

I was referring to the first few comments he made. (I'm paraphrasing at best) But telling the team don't talk about, be about it. When I was young...the phrase was don't sing it...bring it. To me LANK seemed to be all talk, no go. Nothing about Milroe specifically, but if your gonna run with that slogan as a team...you ought to be able to back it up.

I'm not speaking for Brandon or anyone in this group. I actually think LANK has nothing to do with that at all. I think it's frustrating when fans try to bring LANK into conversation as it's a reason..... when really it's not. LANK was just a NIL deal and Milroe, and others capitalized on that. LANK is still around, and it does bring positive stuff on the team. So really, nothing to do with that.

 

[Brandon Van de Graaff]

I was referring to the first few comments he made. (I'm paraphrasing at best) But telling the team don't talk about, be about it. When I was young...the phrase was don't sing it...bring it. To me LANK seemed to be all talk, no go. Nothing about Milroe specifically, but if your gonna run with that slogan as a team...you ought to be able to back it up.

Gotcha. I was personally never a fan of the slogan, though I wasn’t the target audience for it either. And I get why they did it (and glad they made some money off of it). But yeah, it kinda went the same route as Pancake Posse unfortunately.

 

[Brandon Van de Graaff]

Kind of crazy if you aren't there Junior year, you won't get a look from them. But then they have a quarterback not starting till his fourth year in the program.

You lost me here. Or I’ve lost myself. I don’t understand.

 

[Justneedme81]

Kind of crazy if you aren't there Junior year, you won't get a look from them. But then they have a quarterback not starting till his fourth year in the program.

Good thing happens to Alabama team when they have QB that waits for long time....

You gotta look at this:
2022: QB: (1) Bryce Young (2) Jalen Milroe (3) Ty Simpson
2023 QB: Jalen Milroe (RSo.) 2. Ty Simpson (RFr.)3. Tyler Buchner (RSo.)4. Dylan Lonergan (Fr.)
Ty wasn't ready at that time. He was hothead and making mistakes and all.
2024: QB: Jalen Milroe (RJR), 2. Ty Simpson ( IMO It didn't matter who was under the snap, we were gonna struggle throughout the season.)
2025: Ty Simpson.

I felt like Ty Simpson was underrated and lot of people counted him out. At one point, I thought Dylan Lonergan was going to beat Ty Simpson for a starting spot.

 

[scottyhk]

I'm not speaking for Brandon or anyone in this group. I actually think LANK has nothing to do with that at all. I think it's frustrating when fans try to bring LANK into conversation as it's a reason..... when really it's not. LANK was just a NIL deal and Milroe, and others capitalized on that. LANK is still around, and it does bring positive stuff on the team. So really, nothing to do with that.

Could be I'm just not that bright. Let All Naysayers Know...Let them know what?

 

[Justneedme81]

Could be I'm just not that bright. Let All Naysayers Know...Let them know what?

Ah, Dude, Let it be. It's over and done.

 

[scottyhk]

Ah, Dude, Let it be. It's over and done.

Ah Dude...let what be? I made a simple statement regarding what Ballou said in the interview. To me the slogan LANK infers proving the doubters wrong. Now if it's more of a money grab than a motivating quote to get better...that's ok too. It actually makes sense if that's the case....

 

[Justneedme81]

Ah Dude...let what be? I made a simple statement regarding what Ballou said in the interview. To me the slogan LANK infers proving the doubters wrong. Now if it's more of a money grab than a motivating quote to get better...that's ok too. It actually makes sense if that's the case....

I was saying in General that it's not worth talking about it anymore. It's new season new team and new culture

 

[BamaFan334]

You lost me here. Or I’ve lost myself. I don’t understand.

I'm stating that some players don't find their footing till their Senior year, but won't likely hear from Alabama based on what you shared. Yet, you have a quarterback that is in his fourth year in the program finally getting to play, meaning he has finally showcased the ability to start. Late bloomers is my point is all, and just weird how we don't look for that but it's what we got right now.