Alabama athletics director Greg Byrne had all kinds of challenges on his hands once Nick Saban retired.
Byrne not only had to go find a new coach to lead the historic program, but he also had to find a way to try to keep the roster in tact while the Crimson Tide sat without a coach.
The minute Saban retired Jan. 12, the transfer portal opened for the entire roster again for a month. That prompted other programs to circle like hawks to pluck away Alabama’s elite players, with some programs even coming to Tuscaloosa.
Byrne joined The Paul Finebaum Show on SEC Network on Friday and shared just how much of a challenge that faced the program in those days before hiring Kalen DeBoer.
“There were so many people coming at (the players),” Byrne said. “We had coaches come plant downtown in Tuscaloosa who were saying, ‘Hit the transfer portal. Hit the transfer portal.’”
Byrne asked the players to give him 72 hours. He didn’t even take that before hiring a new coach.
Some players eventually left, but most at least stayed until a new coach was in place and they could determine whether they wanted to play for him or not.
“The kids were resilient,” Byrne said. “I was proud of them and the leadership, whether it was Jalen (Milroe), Malachi (Moore), (Tyler) Booker, those guys stepped up and they led.”
Saban has talked before about other people camping out in Tuscaloosa to get players to enter the portal.
“If they wanted to look at somebody tampering, they should have done a little investigation right there,” Saban said in late August.
Nick Kelly is an Alabama beat writer for AL.com and the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X and Instagram.
