It’s time to meet the new boss. Alabama football is set to introduce Kalen DeBoer as its new head coach, replacing Nick Saban, who retired Wednesday.

Alabama athletics director Greg Bryne looked to DeBoer to fill the hole, after the new coach spent two years leading Washington. The Huskies won the Pac-12 championship in 2023 and beat Texas in the College Football Playoff Sugar Bowl semifinal before falling to Michigan in the national title game.

DeBoer was announced as Saban’s replacement Friday evening, and landed in Tuscaloosa at 8:37 p.m. CT.

Follow along here for live updates once the introductory press conference at Bryant-Denny Stadium begins. Scheduled start time is 1 p.m.

— Chairs set up include places for Nick and Terry Saban, positioned in the front row of the audience.

— DeBoer enters the room for the event.

— Alabama broadcaster Chris Stewart opens the press conference.

— Nick and Terry Saban are both in attendance.

— Stuart Bell begins speaking. Says it’s an exciting day for the UA community across the globe.

— Bell gives a special acknowledgement to the Sabans for their impact on both UA and the Tuscaloosa community. Draws applause from the audience.

— Bell offers appreciation to Bryne, notes how hard AD was working to find “the perfect person” to replace Saban. Thanks trustees as well.

— Says he is “truly thrilled” for the future of the Crimson Tide. Praises UA’s athletes. Introduces Bryne.

— Bryne says it’s an exciting day. Welcomes DeBoer as Alabama’s 28th head coach.

— Says he asked team to give him 72 hours to find the new head coach. Says he got a text telling him each coaching search day feels like seven days. Notes that it took 49 hours.

— Says he knew DeBoer was the right choice for Tide after conversation. “Simply put, coach DeBoer is a winner.”

— Bryne says DeBoer’s relationships with players off the field sticks out. Says it was important to find someone who cared for players as much as Saban did.

— Introduces DeBoer to standing ovation from crowd. The two shake hands on stage

— DeBoer: “This is exciting. This is really exciting.”

— Starts out by thanking his wife Nicole and the rest of his family. Then offers appreciation to Greg Bryne, who he said he had never met before the hiring process.

— Thanks Bell and UA’s chancellor.

— Says he can go ‘on and on” about Nick Saban. Says the two have spoken a few times since he accepted the job. Says he met with team Friday about why they came to Alabama, with the biggest reason being Saban.

— Says its a privilege to be chose to replace Saban. Says the coach was intentional about leaving the program in a good place when he retired.

— Praised how the team stuck together after Bryne’s request to stick around for 72 hours.

— Thanks Saban for laying the foundation for him to build on. Draws cheer from crowd. Calls Saban “the best in the business to ever do it.”

— Says its important to also remember Bear Bryant and the rest of the university’s history in football.

— Thanks every coach he has worked with and for. Says they all helped him get to the place he’s in today.

— Says its important to embrace tradition and athletics department. Says he can’t wait for family to also embrace Tuscaloosa community. Says airport reception was awesome. Wants alumni to know that he is embracing them as well. Says he wants to know the stories and great moments of Alabama history.

— DeBoer says there’s obvious answers why he came to Alabama. Says it’s about winning championships, and he can’t wait to try and uphold that expectation.

— Praises Alabama’s resources and facilities are excellent. Says it makes his job easier and he looks forward to using and showing off the facilities. Speaks about how athletics brings people together, again notes the airport welcome.

— Speaks about how important alignment is, from president to AD to coach and on down. Says it’s critical and Alabama has it “on a very strong level.”

— Says his goal is to win SEC and national championships. Wants to get there with “class” and uphold Alabama standard. Says it’s about both winning and a culture. Says there’s already a contagious culture and he can’t wait to add to that. Wants people to feel through TV screens during games how much players want to win.

— Wants to make sure Alabama is building better men. Notes that football will end eventually and college years is influential time for young men.

— Says he started speaking to players last night. Says he wants to hear what makes Alabama special from them. Says he wants to engrain himself into what makes UA special and build trust with players.

— DeBoer says team will build a brotherhood, one that will be tough. Says that’s mental as well as physical.

— Speaks of football style. Says his teams will always play hard, and it will always be centered around the personnel Alabama has and what its strengths are. Promises team will be aggressive and explosive, and will dominate the line of scrimmage.

— Starts speaking about recruiting. Says it’s the lifeblood of the program, as the players on the field make the plays. Says he’s looking forward to “rolling up my sleeves and going to work.”

— Thanks people back at Washington. Says he saved it for last because he was going to get emotional. Says Alabama is one of very few places, maybe the only place he would have left. Tells Huskies he loves them and will miss them.

— Says he’s looking forward to new challenges and going to battle for Alabama.

— Gets standing ovation to end press conference.