Tennessee football won't miss Nick Saban, but Kalen Deboer could pose problems, too

Tennessee football won’t miss Nick Saban, but Kalen Deboer could pose problems, too

Posted by Admin October 11, 2024 Football

Watching Alabama football run into Neyland Stadium next Saturday should be a joyous occasion for Tennessee fans. They can revel in what’s missing.

Nick Saban won’t be there. What a relief, huh?

Tennessee beat Saban, though by the slimmest of margins, in his final Neyland Stadium appearance in 2022. An Alabama kicker missed. A Tennessee kicker hit.

It was that close.

But the rest of the Saban era was basically an Alabama avalanche. He won 16 of 17 games against Tennessee from 2007 through 2023. The Tide won by two points in 2009 and by five in 2014. Almost everything else was a runaway.

So, when Saban announced his retirement after last season, Tennessee had as much reason to rejoice as anyone.

You can’t be sure how Alabama football will fare under Kalen DeBoer. But his track record is cause for Tide optimism.

He needed little time to turn Washington’s program right-side up in his last coaching stint, which ended with the Huskies losing in the national championship game to Michigan. And his reputation for prolific offenses might remind Tennessee fans of a couple of other coaching nemeses – but from Florida, not Alabama.

Former Florida coach Steve Spurrier often made life miserable for the Vols during the 1990s. But despite all the SEC East championships he claimed at UT’s expense, his record didn’t compare to Saban’s.

Spurrier went 8-4 against the Vols while coaching the Gators from 1990 through 2001. His success was magnified in that he beat some of Tennessee’s best teams. Four of Spurrier’s victories came against teams that finished in the top 10. Because of that, you could say he did more damage to Tennessee football than Saban.

Another Florida coach also didn’t help UT’s football reputation. Urban Meyer never lost to the Vols in six games from 2005 through 2010. Although Meyer first distinguished himself as an offensive coach, Tennessee repeatedly struggled to score against his defense. The Vols never scored more than 20 points on Meyer’s teams and gave up 59 in the Gators’ 39-point rout in 2007.

Saban, Spurrier, and Meyer rank among the SEC’s all-time greatest coaches. So does former Alabama coach Bear Bryant, who also got the best of the Vols.

Bryant went 16-7-2 against Tennessee while winning six national championships at Alabama from 1958 through 1982.

Nonetheless, the Vols were more competitive against Bryant than they were against Saban. They even managed a four-game winning streak from 1967 through 1970.

Saban’s dominance was just so thorough and long lasting. No wonder, UT fans celebrated their one victory over Saban’s Tide by not only taking down the goal posts but depositing them in the Tennessee River.

His retirement should have sparked another Tennessee celebration.

The Vols have brought out the best in the SEC’s all-time best coaches, two of whom happened to be at Alabama. But between the Tide’s two dynasty coaches, the Vols held their own.

In a 24-year stretch from 1983 through 2006 – with neither Bryant nor Saban in charge – Tennessee was 13-10-1 against Alabama.

Success isn’t assured against DeBoer, who already had a phenomenal coaching record of 104-12 when he took the Alabama job. And he has picked up where Saban left off in recruiting, currently trailing only Ohio State for the top 2025 class.

DeBoer might not deliver another Alabama dynasty. However, his track record is a powerful indicator he won’t fall in line with the likes of failed Tide coaches like Mike Price, Mike DuBose, and Mike Shula.

Gene Stallings didn’t produce a dynasty of Bryant or Saban proportions. But he didn’t fail, either. He won a national championship in 1992 and went 4-2-1 against Tennessee from 1990 through 1996.

ADAMS: How Tennessee football compares to Georgia and Alabama in 2024. Times are changing

No one should expect DeBoer to win as much as Bryant or Saban. Tennessee fans also should hope he doesn’t win as much as Stallings.

They would feel better about the rivalry if Alabama had hired somebody named “Mike.”

John Adams is a senior columnist. He may be reached at 865-342-6284 or john.adams@knoxnews.com. Follow him at: twitter.com/johnadamskns.