Alabama trainer Jeff Allen calls Kalen DeBoer 'unbelievable communicator'

Jeff Allen is entering his 18th year as Alabama’s head athletic trainer. But for the last 17 years, he has worked under the same head coach – Nick Saban. When Saban retired in January, Allen was retained by new head coach Kalen DeBoer and will continue to serve in his official title as the associate athletic director of sports medicine for Crimson Tide athletics.

Allen has now spent seven months getting to know DeBoer, and he described the transition from Saban to Alabama’s new coach as he joined Hey Coach on Wednesday evening.

“I’ve worked for the same head coach for a long time, but one thing I learned prior to that is it’s my job to adapt to the new head coach, it’s not his job to adapt to me,” Allen said. “You learn them. You learn their rhythms. You learn how they like things, how they like to be communicated with, what their expectations are for you as a staff member and obviously what his expectations are for us as a medical staff.”

It didn’t take Allen long to understand any of that because DeBoer made it clear.

“He’s an unbelievable communicator,” Allen said. “He’ll tell you straight up what he wants. I’ve really, really enjoyed being around him and watching him work. It’s been impressive.”

Along with strength coach David Ballou and new nutritionist Alison VandenBerghe, Allen makes up a critical trio within Alabama’s football program. A pillar since Saban’s first season as coach of the Crimson Tide, Allen has helped countless players immediately after injuries and beyond, and that will continue for the start of DeBoer’s tenure as coach.

But that level of trust is established well before any setbacks are sustained on the field.

“It’s the relationships that you build with these kids,” Allen said. “I tell people all the time that the biggest thing in my ability to get somebody healthy is their trust. I can’t earn their trust when they’re hurt. I have to earn it before they’re hurt. I have to take care of them. They have to know I’m there for them. And I have to be intentional about building relationships.”

Speaking of trust, Allen had that from Saban over the last 17 years. The athletic trainer said he never received pushback and could tell that would be the case when he was hired in 2007. On Wednesday, Allen recalled being interviewed in Saban’s office and something the now-former Alabama coach said to him that still sticks with him following his retirement.

“He pointed at me and he said, ‘If I hire you for this job and you come to Alabama, I want my players taken care of the right way,’” Allen said. “I’ve been doing this a long time and have had a lot of coaches before him. I had never had a coach say something like that to me. And I knew he genuinely meant it, and he did. I just saw that for 17 years.

“I think what people’s perception of Nick Saban was a lot of times the clips they saw on TV and throwing headsets, doing his thing, but I think a lot of us got to see a different side of him and I’m forever grateful for that.”

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