Kalen DeBoer preaches to "stay the course" following first loss at Alabama

There's no panic in Kalen DeBoer following his first loss as the Alabama football coach. Those hoping for a fire and brimstone type press conference on Monday that Nick Saban made famous in Tuscaloosa will be disappointed.

DeBoer is much more even-keeled, even if he readily admitted that he was frustrated following the loss to Vanderbilt, even if it didn't show on his face or in his actions on the sideline.

"I'm extremely frustrated, we all are, but we're not going to lose our cool over it."

Fans expecting him to be morph into Saban at times of adversity will remain disappointed. Though I think it's fair to point out that Saban was never more even-keeled than after a loss; it was typically a win in a sloppy effort to his standard that would induce a profanity-laced rant.

DeBoer has always been cast as a confident guy, and it's that confidence that continues to show even following a deflating defeat.

"We have a great football team," said DeBoer. "I'm convinced of that. I have no doubt in that. I believe in these guys."

If Alabama is going to make any philosphical changes on either side of the ball, there was no hint of that given by DeBoer or coordinators Nick Sheridan and Kane Wommack.

Instead, DeBoer is preaching to stay the course.

"You stay the course. That's what the message is to the team. Everything is always digesting what happened, having some perspective, and having the answers for the guys. So we can walk away understanding what we can control and how we can fix it."

Everyone is ready to put the Vanderbilt loss in the rearview, and based on comments made by Tyler Booker on The Next Round earlier on Monday, the South Carolina game is being used as a prove it kind of game for the team to remind everyone, including themselves, of what this group is capable of:

"This game is going to make us into who we are as a team. This game is going to show who Alabama is"

For better or worse, Booker is right.