This is an opinion column.

Wearing a hoodie, ball cap Kalen DeBoer stepped to the podium.

He smiled. A real one and his first Alabama post-practice news conference was off to a delightful start.

Farewell, tin horn.

And welcome to the kinder, gentler day in the den of rat poison.

Need tangible proof of the new era in the press room? Nick Saban’s successor was asked after Monday’s first spring practice about the identity of the starting quarterback.

And he lived.

“Someone had to take the first reps today with the ones when we lined up and we referred to them as that and Jalen did,” DeBoer responded in part. “So he’s putting everything into that he can along with the other guys that took those first reps.”

No finger tapping the podium. No death stares at media relations. No animal sacrifices. Just an earnest answer and on to the next question.

A new day indeed.

For years, the second-floor interview room gained an infamous reputation. Step on a Saban question landmine and grab a shovel. That’s the thing about asking the newly-retired coach a question. It had to be precise, worded in a way to avoid the red-lined comparisons or hypotheticals.

It truly was an experience unlike with any other coach. And when the query wandered off the preferred path, SportsCenter had the footage. It didn’t have to be a “bad” question, just one that lacked the discipline could draw the wrath.

Anyway, not the case now.

Standing before a more-crowded-than-normal room Monday, DeBoer welcomed the esteemed press with a “How are we doing?” and that toothy smile. Flanked by the sponsored soda bottle, there were some hints of the past in the room. The traditional water bottle warning from Cedric Burns — Saban’s longtime assistant — wasn’t part of the DeBoer routine.

He’s a bit taller too, if we’re being honest.

An old minor-league baseball roster listed DeBoer at 6-foot-2 back in 1998. Checks out.

There was also an unintentional nod to the past at one point when DeBoer ran through some of the tentpole maxims for the program.

“Winning, I know that’s a results-oriented piece to it,” DeBoer said like an echo from his predecessor, “but what we focus on is really what the winners do.”

The Process lives.

But a good portion of it retired to South Florida.

The new era will include availabilities for assistant coaches outside of those required by bowl games. Media viewing windows will reopen for the first time since Saban shut them a few years ago.

That means a little more insight not just for the writers but the readers as well. So you’ve got that going for you. Which is nice.

At the same time, something was missing Monday in the 15 minutes of DeBoer time at the mic Monday.

Call it Stockholm Syndrome from 14-plus years of covering Saban standing in the same spot, but the threat of nuclear meltdown always added a dose of adrenaline to the proceedings. Sure, that had softened some in his final years but these pressers had the potential to go off the rails at any moment.

It was kinda fun, honestly.

Kept you on your toes knowing you were a word or two away from internet infamy. Some jump out of planes for that rush. We raised a microphone.

Twisted, I know.

But those days are over. Not dead and buried six feet under, but gone. GONE.

It’ll no doubt be easier to do our jobs with the increased access that was previously unthinkable under the previous regime. Having human interactions with assistant coaches will be cool.

But some of us will miss the game of word crafting a question in the chess match with Saban.

And the real sickos will write wistfully about the times we got an old-fashioned ass-chewing on live TV.

Michael Casagrande is a reporter for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @ByCasagrande or on Facebook.