DeBoer was asked if he intended to don a southern drawl during an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show on Wednesday. He answered, “I don’t plan on it,” laughing.The famously uncomfortable southern accent that LSU football coach Brian Kelly wore when he was introduced in Baton Rouge before a Tiger basketball game has been the subject of years of online jokes. Kelly is a native of Massachusetts. South Dakota native Kalen DeBoer, the new head coach of Alabama, will not make the same error.
DeBoer remarked, “I think that would go wrong for me.” We just have to accept the fact that I am who I am and that there is some South Dakota in me. You accepted me as I am.
Some questioned DeBoer’s southern credentials when he was hired. Having coached at Washington, Fresno State, and several locations in the Midwest, he has never worked as a head coach in the SEC.
Athletics director Greg Byrne highlighted that DeBoer will have staff members who are accustomed to “sweet tea and grits” upon his introduction as the Crimson Tide’s new head coach.
The new coach concurred.
At the time, DeBoer stated, “I understand there needs to be some Southeast ties, some SEC ties that can help bridge the gap of maybe my experiences here.” “There are experiences, including some of the recruitment and being on the West Coast and in Indiana. However, it’s not—I don’t want to mislead you—that I currently have the phone number for every coach on my phone. I simply need to surround myself with the proper people.
He has adhered to that, adding personnel such as former South Alabama head coach and current defensive coordinator Kane Wommack.
