Tough times in T-Town…
Alabama fans have been spoiled in recent years with their success under legendary coach Nick Saban. The Crimson Tide won six national championships during Saban’s 17 seasons in Tuscaloosa, racking up an incredible 201-29 record and setting the standard in college football.
But since Saban retired following the 2023 season, things haven’t exactly been smooth sailing for Alabama fans and new head coach Kalen DeBoer. The Tide finished the 2024 season with a 9-4 record, which included embarrassing losses to Vanderbilt, Tennessee and Oklahoma during the regular season and a loss to Michigan in the ReliaQuest Bowl.
It’s certainly not the standard that Tide fans have come to expect during the Saban era. And when Alabama lost to Florida State in their season opener this past weekend, fans immediately began calling for head coach Kalen DeBoer to be fired – especially after what many saw as a lack of effort that would have gotten players kicked off a Nick Saban-coached team.
Of course it’s unlikely that Alabama moves on from DeBoer any time soon. The former Washington coach has a $70 million buyout in his contract, and even for a school like Alabama, that’s a tough pill to swallow when you would have to turn around and pay another coach, especially at a time when athletic departments are trying to come up with as much NIL money as possible.
But after his press conference yesterday, Bama fans may be willing to cut the check.
DeBoer addressed the loss to FSU, and was asked what happened after he had previously claimed the team had a great week of practice leading up to the game. And his answer didn’t really give Tide fans any confidence:
Yikes…
Well as you can imagine, Bama fans aren’t exactly optimistic that DeBoer is going to be the one to turn things around:
Yeah, going to be a long season for the Tide.
Now, like I said, I don’t think Kalen DeBoer is going anywhere right now. Even though Alabama is 0-1 for the first time since 2001, they’re stuck with their coach for the time being. But if things really go south this season in Tuscaloosa, it wouldn’t be a stretch to see athletic director Greg Byrne make a change after 2025.
And many Alabama fans already have a coach in mind to replace DeBoer: A former NFL coach who happens to be available and wants to get back into coaching, Jon Gruden.
Gruden was, of course, fired by the Las Vegas Raiders back in 2021 amid a controversy over some resurfaced emails the coach had sent referring to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. He’s since gone to work for Barstool Sports, and has said he’s having more fun than he’s ever had in his career, but Gruden has made clear that he’s open to get back into coaching if the right opportunity comes along.
But Gruden doesn’t have any experience as a head coach at the college level, and if history shows us anything it’s that being a good NFL coach doesn’t necessarily translate to success in the college ranks. (I mean, look at what happened to Bill Belichick last night during his college debut at UNC).
Many Bama fans believe the school needs to look for a coach with experience in the SEC, maybe even someone who has previously coached at Alabama like Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin.
But regardless, it seems that after the embarrassing loss on Saturday, the Tide is turning on Kalen DeBoer.
