Kalen DeBoer Ready to Elevate Alabama's Offense with Jalen Milroe

Despite succeeding legendary coach Nick Saban, Kalen DeBoer is confident in his ability to excel at Alabama, thanks to the presence of standout quarterback Jalen Milroe. With a strong track record of developing quarterbacks, DeBoer aims to maximize Milroe's potential in the upcoming season.

Kalen DeBoer has the daunting task of replacing Nick Saban as head coach at Alabama in 2024, but he's confident he'll succeed thanks to the presence of star quarterback Jalen Milroe.

Fortunately for DeBoer, he takes over an Alabama program that returns an exceptional quarterback in Milroe, who is a preseason Heisman Trophy favorite after his breakout season in 2023. Milroe threw for 2,834 yards and 23 touchdowns, while rushing for 531 yards and 12 scores, leading the Crimson Tide to the College Football Playoff.

Kalen DeBoer Ready to Elevate Alabama's Offense with Jalen Milroe

DeBoer has a reputation as one of the top quarterback developers in college football. He helped Michael Penix Jr. become a standout quarterback in the Big Ten during his time as offensive coordinator at Indiana. Jake Haener emerged as a top Group of 5 quarterback when DeBoer was Fresno State's head coach. Penix took even more strides when he reunited with DeBoer at Washington, becoming a Heisman Trophy contender and a first-round NFL Draft pick.

Milroe is a more dual-threat quarterback than Penix and Haener, but DeBoer believes he can tailor his offensive system to maximize the quarterback's abilities.

"It's Jalen, but it's also the guys around him," DeBoer told Joel Klatt. "When you've done it for 25 years, and you've adjusted to the guys — especially when you're at a smaller college level — … you're adjusting to the guys that you have. Of course, it starts with your quarterback."

DeBoer has experience adapting to different quarterbacks' strengths. He ran a G Option offense in the early 2000s, sometimes giving the quarterback up to 25 carries a game. In later years, he evolved to a more pass-heavy approach.

"You just adjust to your personnel," DeBoer explained. "So, that's all built within."

As DeBoer prepares to guide Milroe to a Heisman-worthy season in his first year at Alabama, he can draw inspiration from some of the most successful quarterback-head coach duos in recent history:

**Jalen Hurts and Nick Saban, 2016:** Hurts led Alabama to the College Football Playoff National Championship as a true freshman, throwing for 2,780 yards and 23 touchdowns.

**Baker Mayfield and Lincoln Riley, 2017:** Mayfield and Riley led Oklahoma to a 12-2 record, with Mayfield throwing for 4,627 yards and 43 touchdowns.

**Gardner Minshew and Mike Leach, 2018:** Minshew became one of the nation's top passers in his lone season at Washington State, throwing for 4,776 yards and 38 touchdowns.

**Shea Patterson and Jim Harbaugh, 2018:** Patterson led Michigan to a 10-3 record in his first year as a starter, throwing for 2,600 yards and 22 touchdowns.

**Trevor Lawrence and Dabo Swinney, 2018:** Lawrence took over the starting job at Clemson as a true freshman and led the Tigers to a 15-0 record, throwing for 3,280 yards and 30 touchdowns.

**Justin Fields and Ryan Day, 2019:** Fields had one of the best seasons for a quarterback in Ohio State history in his first year, throwing for 3,273 yards and 41 touchdowns.

**Jalen Hurts and Lincoln Riley, 2019:** Hurts threw for 3,851 yards and 32 touchdowns in his second season at Oklahoma, finishing second in the Heisman Trophy voting.

**Sam Howell and Mack Brown, 2019:** Howell set an FBS record for passing touchdowns by a true freshman with 38 in his first year at North Carolina.

**Bo Nix and Dan Lanning, 2022:** Nix had the best season of his career at Oregon under Lanning, throwing for 3,593 yards and 29 touchdowns.

**Michael Penix Jr. and Kalen DeBoer, 2022:** Penix reunited with DeBoer at Washington and had an exceptional season, throwing for 4,641 yards and 31 touchdowns.

DeBoer hopes to add his name to this list of successful quarterback-head coach duos in his first season at Alabama. With Milroe's talent and DeBoer's proven ability to develop quarterbacks, the Crimson Tide could be poised for an explosive offensive season in 2024.