Goodman: Players are happier with new Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer

This is an opinion column.

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Deontae Lawson is one of only three defenders at Alabama this spring who started in the Rose Bowl back in January.

Safety Caleb Downs split after the national semifinals and transferred to Ohio State. Lawson, a middle linebacker, is one of the guys on defense who stuck around.

Downs didn’t want to play for Alabama without Nick Saban as the coach. On Saturday after Alabama’s spring game, Lawson provided the opposite perspective. The redshirt junior from Mobile shared some insight into how things are better under Alabama’s new coach.

Yes, you read that correctly. I said better.

“The vibes are good,” Lawson said. “Just the energy around the building. I mean, the young players, the coaches, the vibe is just everything, and that makes you want to play more.”

Saban was all about the diatribes.

Apparently new coach Kalen DeBoer is all about the vibes.

The verdict after DeBoer’s first A-Day? I’m just going to come out and say what everyone is thinking in the locker room these days. Alabama’s players seem happier than they ever have thanks to the refreshing personality of their new coach. That’s not to say DeBoer is a better coach than Saban, but it’s safe to say that DeBoer is nicer and more personable than his predecessor.

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How is that going to affect the team this fall? We’ll see, but, based on DeBoer’s success at Washington, his friendly approach to coaching works wonders for his teams.

With Saban, Alabama was a program that projected fear. His rants at the media set a tone. The way he treated assistant coaches set a standard. DeBoer is not that way, and that drastic change began from the first day he set foot on campus.

Longtime staffers lived on edge under Saban. With DeBoer, the people who work for him can actually have lives outside of football.

Can Alabama remain successful with a coach who isn’t a tyrant? That’s what fans are going to ask. Here’s a thought. Maybe Alabama can be better.

Saban’s record over his last two years: 23-4.

DeBoer’s record in two years at Washington: 25-3.

Can’t compare the records of a Pac-12 school and one in the SEC? Fine. Based on the spring game, Alabama’s offense already seems better under the new coach. It was offense vs. defense at Bryant-Denny Stadium to welcome in the DeBoer Era and the Alabama offense outscored the defense 34-28. How that scoring system actually worked isn’t something anyone should really waste time caring about. The most important takeaways were this:

— Quarterback Jalen Milroe completed three passes for 100 yards. Good.

— Running back Jam Miller had eight carries for 83 yards. Better.

— Alabama has a new go-to receiver in Washington transfer Germie Bernard, who had three receptions for 122 yards. Best.

“Fun day,” said DeBoer in his opening statement after the game, and those are two words that Saban never uttered together as coach of the Crimson Tide.

Spring games in Seattle, Washington, don’t really compare to how it’s done in Tuscaloosa. That’s nothing against Seattle. It’s just that college football fans here in Alabama care a little more about rating the backups during an offseason practice than fans out west care about the sport at all.

DeBoer didn’t really understand what it meant to be the football coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide until A-Day. It was on his face and in his voice. I asked the fun coach a light-hearted question. What was spring practice like back in Sioux Falls? That’s where DeBoer got his start. He laughed.

DeBoer then asked a staffer about the attendance.

“What was it?” DeBoer said. “Seventy-two thousand? We were just shy of that there [in Sioux Falls], but, you know, the cool thing is that football is football and what you see at all the places you’re at, guys who love to get out there and have an opportunity to go make plays and play the game they love. But this was a special day. Special day.”

DeBoer made a name for himself at Sioux Falls, his alma mater. He coached at the University of Washington last season, taking the Huskies to the national championship game. It was a great run for a proud school with an excellent history of college football. For example, picturesque Husky Stadium, located on Lake Washington, offers a maximum capacity of 70,138 fans. That’s a big stadium by any measure.

To understand the expectations for Alabama football, consider that an announced attendance of 72,358 attended DeBoer’s first A-Day and there were plenty of people disappointed with the size of the crowd.

DeBoer’s players are happy with their new coach, but will that translate into wins? That’s the big question coming out of spring for the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Here’s how Lawson, the middle linebacker described DeBoer’s approach as a coach.

“As a player, I just want to play hard for him,” Lawson said. “You know, when you got somebody that you connect with and have a great relationship with off the field, you just want to perform to your best on the field for him.

“I think he cares about his players. He tells us that we’re all in this together all the time, so when you have a coach like that it makes you want to compete for him.”

How does Lawson compare DeBoer to Saban? Now that’s where things get interesting.

“You really can’t have a normal conversation with [Saban],” Lawson said. “It’s just business. And I think now you’re just able to open up and be yourself — not only on the football field but off the field, too.”

Maybe even a different person.

Maybe even a better player.

The Crimson Tide’s projected starting middle linebacker, Lawson feels like he is growing into the player he always envisioned himself becoming for Alabama. He credits DeBoer for some of that transformation. Lawson spoke with authority and depth after A-Day. He seemed confident and relaxed. He says he is becoming a vocal leader in the locker room, too.

He’s different and not just because he changed his number this offseason from 32 to zero.

“It’s just a new beginning for me,” said Lawson of his jersey swap and everything else. “It’s a new era at Alabama, and I just wanted to start my own legacy.”

And maybe start winning national titles again, too.

SOUND OFF

Got a question about the changing landscape of college football, spring practice or March Madness? Want to get something off your chest? Send Joe a question about what’s on your mind for the weekly mailbag. Let your voice be heard. Ask him anything.

Joseph Goodman is the lead sports columnist for the Alabama Media Group, and author of the most controversial sports book ever written, “We Want Bama”.