Kalen DeBoer has had his fair share of struggles since taking the Alabama Crimson Tide head-coaching job, and not even an 11-4 season and a Rose Bowl appearance in Year 2 can quiet down the chatter surrounding him.
Expectations are high at Alabama, and thus far, DeBoer has not met them, going 20-8 over his first couple of seasons. By contrast, Nick Saban lost eight games in total over his final five campaigns with the Crimson Tide.
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But it’s not just DeBoer’s record that some are concerned about: it’s his mindset.
The reserved DeBoer does not possess the same type of in-your-face personality as Saban, and that has rubbed some people in Tuscaloosa the wrong way.
For example, DeBoer was recently asked at SEC Media Days if national titles would define his time at Alabama, and he said that he wasn’t focused on that.
Well, evidently, a former player told ESPN’s Paul Finebaum that comments like that are the reason DeBoer won’t survive at ‘Bama.
Alabama Crimson Tide coach Kalen DeBoer. Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images.
“I spoke this morning to a former Alabama football player, a prominent player, who played for and won championships. National Championships, not CFP road wins,” Finebaum said on ESPN’s First Take. “… He said, ‘What Kalen DeBoer said yesterday is the reason why he will not succeed, nor will he ever win a National Championship.’ You have to have the DNA to do it. I know how fans think, I know how former players think, and I know what the money people think. They did not like what he said yesterday.”
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The Crimson Tide won six national championships under Saban, who coached the squad between 2007 and 2023. Bear Bryant also won six titles in Tuscaloosa.
When it comes to Alabama football, national titles are the standard, so for DeBoer to claim that winning championships shouldn’t necessarily define his legacy is quite a bit tone deaf.
Does it mean that DeBoer cannot ultimately succeed at ‘Bama? Absolutely not. After all, he did lead Washington to a National Championship Game appearance in 2023.
But there is something to be said for having the right mindset, and at this point, it is certainly fair to question whether or not DeBoer possesses it.
On that same token, though, is is equally fair to give DeBoer some time to prove himself, as he has coached a grand total of 28 games at Alabama thus far.
