When Nick Saban made the decision to step away from the sidelines after a legendary career where he cemented himself as the greatest college coach of all-time, the list of coaches capable or stepping in to replace him was shorter than the perhaps any list of replacements an athletic director has ever kept in the top drawer of his office.
Of course, we all now know that the man that the Crimson Tide tabbed, following a quick search, was none other than Washington's Kalen DeBoer, who had led the Huskies to historic success and a national title game appearance just weeks before.
While that part is well known, some light was recently shed on (in my best Paul Harvey voice) *the rest of the story*.
During a recent interview with Fox Nation, Nicole DeBoer shared an unforgettable moment when she got the call from her husband that they were taking the job in Tuscaloosa.
Nicole shares she was actually at the mall when she got a text from Kalen, where he shared they needed to leave in three hours.
She quickly had the realization that her husband didn't have anything red to wear, so she made a quick stop at Nordstrom's.
Nicole swung by the tie rack and grabbed picked out a few just so they were prepared, and took them to the register without saying a word about the news that was about to dominate headlines across the country and break the hearts of those in Seattle.
The person working the register clearly recognized her, and noted "none of these are purple."
The brief exchange ended in a chill-inducing moment where the person working the register ended their conversation with a simple but thoughtful and powerful, "Thank you for everything that you guys did, and best of luck."
Listen to Nicole share the story of that incredible moment.