No, Kalen DeBoer is NOT on the Hotseat
Published January 6, 2025 - 3:14 PM CST
Can we put this ridiculous notion to rest that Kalen DeBoer is on the hot seat? Apparently not because Paul Finebaum says Deboer is on a “scorching hot seat” after the way Alabama finished his inaugural season. Who else could try to stir the pot heading into the offseason? It makes for great radio content in the cold months of the year when there is nothing else to talk about until Spring Football begins. But does this narrative have any merit? No, it doesn’t.
In fact, trying to replace DeBoer now would be suicidal for the Alabama football program when there really isn’t any logical reason to entertain this asinine idea in the first place. We have known for years that there would be expected turnover and change for any coach stepping into the shoes of the GOAT. Put yourself in the shoes of a highly sought-after recruit who committed to play for Nick Saban, only to find out that he isn’t going to be there right after you started your career at Alabama. I’m actually shocked at how well DeBoer has kept the team together when you think about it like that. It’s a good thing Alabama AD Greg Byrne knows this and is much smarter than your average Finebaum caller.
No one wants to make comparisons (aka excuses) between Saban’s 7-6 first season season and DeBoer’s 9-4 season, but I will. Obviously, Saban had different circumstances, but there are a lot of similarities between the two seasons. While it is true that Saban’s squad finished the regular season in a tailspin, like DeBoer’s first team, there was a point during the season where things were looking pretty good for both teams.
Saban’s squad started the year at 5-2 with a pair of competitive losses as underdogs against Georgia and Florida State. They hosted #20 Tennessee after what was dubbed the “textbook scandal.” Despite missing a few key players due to suspension, the Tide went out and demolished Tennessee 41-17. Most Alabama fans probably felt at that point like Saban was on to something and the team was about to go on a run. Following a bye, Alabama hosted LSU in a game that would determine the SEC West. When Javier Arenas ran a punt back in the fourth quarter to put Alabama up by 7 (still the loudest I have ever heard BDS in my life), I started wondering if this team could make the national championship game with two losses. LSU would come back and win it off this untimely fumble from JPW late in the game.
After wondering what could have been, Alabama closed out the regular season by losing to Mississippi State, Louisiana Monroe, and Auburn. LSU would win the BCS national championship that year with two losses in probably the wildest college football season of the century. What could have been in year one for Coach Saban…
Doesn’t it sound a lot like DeBoer’s first season? After playing up-and-down football for the first half of the season, Alabama dominated LSU on November 9. Greg McElroy declared Alabama a “very dangerous football team” and Finebaum said Alabama was a “potential national championship team.” We all know what happened in Norman just a couple of weeks later, and I still can’t tell you what happened to Jalen Milroe after that LSU game. I do know one thing: a team that close in November doesn’t just fall off out of nowhere. There were lots of positives to take away from what we’ve seen this season. We can acknowledge that the first season of the DeBoer era was disappointing for failing to meet the standard Saban established and still be optimistic about the future. Disappointment and optimism are not mutually exclusive sentiments.
Another commonly cited difference between Saban’s and DeBoer’s first teams is their talent level. Yes, DeBoer inherited more talent than Saban, but many people believe Saban inherited an awful team. This simply isn’t true. According to On3, each of Mike Shula’s three full-year recruiting classes ranked #13 in the country. Maybe 13 is unlucky for you (or you’re a Taylor Swift fan), but that’s not a bad place to be ranked. Want to guess what Michigan’s average recruiting class ranking was in the three years leading up to its national title last year? 14th.
In 2005, Shula’s team climbed all the way to #3 before falling to LSU in November. In a lot of ways, Shula’s final team in 2006 resembled Saban’s first team in 2007 in how it started off promising but collapsed in November with some bad losses. That bad November was enough to get Shula fired, which came as a total shock to me at the time. I had heard rumblings but never thought it would happen.
The reality is Mike Shula took a job no one wanted when the program was in one of its darkest hours. He had a couple of depleted years due to probation, followed by a really good one in 2005. Had just a couple of plays gone differently in 2006, he could still be at Alabama for all we know. Remember, Dennis Franchione bailed on Alabama for Texas A&M in the midst of the Tide’s two-year bowl ban. One might argue Mike Shula saved Alabama from descending into the abyss. He deserves much more respect than the average fan gives him.
Here’s some good news: Saban’s first full recruiting class was the top-ranked class in the nation. When DeBoer took the job, the question I and so many others had was whether or not DeBoer could recruit. Developing mid-level recruits into first-round picks is nice and all, but you need more than a couple of pro prospects to win year in and year out in the SEC. DeBoer’s first recruiting class currently stands at #2 in the nation. Recruiting is the lifeblood of college football. If DeBoer were not recruiting at a high level, it would be a huge red flag, and I would be the first to raise concerns. The fact that his recruiting class is shaping up to look like a Saban class is all we can ask for.
But DeBoer’s team is undisciplined, you say. Let’s take a look at where Alabama ranked in penalties per game over each of the past few years:
2019- 7.6 - 120th
2020- 6.0 - 62nd
2021- 7.0 - 99th
2022- 8.3 - 129th
2023- 5.8 - 65th
2024- 7.4 - 116th (DeBoer’s first year)
Obviously, 2024 was not a good year for Alabama in the penalty department, but this team wasn’t viewed as particularly disciplined to begin with. On paper, the 2022 team was one of Alabama’s best teams ever, yet they couldn’t get out of their own way.
You have to go back to 2012 to find the last time Alabama finished in the top 10 (8th overall) in penalties at only 4.1 per game. And in 2011, Alabama was #3 in penalties at only 3.6 per game. Crazy stuff.
You have to come in and lay down the law.
Everyone says this, but it isn’t practical anymore. Not in 2024. Players will hit the portal left and right. There is an art to following the greatest coach of all time, and I think DeBoer has done it as well as anyone could ask. No, the championship results weren’t there this season, but I believe the long-term future is exceedingly bright. Everyone wants to blame the late-season collapse on Jalen Milroe, but there has to be some credit to Milroe for keeping the team together throughout the transition. Team chemistry is an underrated aspect of College Football and we will never know exactly how much that impacted the QB race in 2024. This isn’t 2001 where Larry Coker can inherit a Ferrari in Miami and drive off with one of the greatest seasons of all time. (He would later crash the Ferrari)
In hindsight, Caleb Downs being the only major piece to transfer out of town following the news of Saban’s departure feels like a small miracle (Bond, who?). Now that Jalen Milroe is heading to the NFL, we can wish him well and move on to the next chapter where DeBoer can put his stamp on the offense with his hand-chosen quarterback. While Alabama has three very capable players vying for the starting QB next season, one thing is certain: no player will be given any special favors over the job; this is Kalen DeBoer’s team now and he has all the ingredients he needs to let him be successful. Now it’s time to let him cook.
