This is an opinion column.

Alabama has a quarterback problem again.

Last season, starter Jalen Milroe regressed in November. Now it’s quarterback Ty Simpson, who struggled against Oklahoma. Are Alabama’s coaches to blame? Some insightful readers are more than a little concerned about the troubling trend.

To the mailbag …

Jim in LaQuina, Calif., writes …

Unofficially, Ty Simpson now holds the distinction of having fumbled the fifth most times in FBS among all players this year (six). No one else in the unofficial list of Top 25 fumblers plays for a ranked team other than Joey Aguilar (Tennessee). Tuscaloosa, we have a problem … not just because of Simpson’s fumbles, all of which have been critical, but because of his inability to address the fundamental need to get rid of the ball at times when he’s under pressure rather than trying to create a play that isn’t there with an unsecured ball in his hand.

I would be shocked if his coaches (including Kalen DeBoer) haven’t been saying this to him literally all year. You pointed out three crucial errors Simpson made on Saturday that contributed greatly to Alabama’s loss to a significantly inferior team (the interception, the fumble, and the late sack). It reminded me of Milroe 2.0. Milroe, by the way, finished 2024 No.1 in fumbles lost.

Richard writes …

Our offense can’t run the ball because the offensive coordinator and the head coach want to throw the ball all the time. Defense coordinators all around know what we are going to do every single play… Alabama needs to clean house. First the athletics director needs to be FIRED immediately! He hired DeBoer, who no one ever heard off, until he had one good season at Washington and then gave him this stupid, ridiculous contract. The President and the Board should be replaced for allowing that to happen. DeBoer and the offensive coordinator both should be gone.

Mike in Wetumpka writes …

You can stick a fork in The Tide because based on their performances this year against inferior teams. I’m predicting they will leave Jordan-Hare totally humbled and embarrassed … Also, Saturday did a lot to reveal why offensive coordinator Grubb lasted only one year at his previous location.

Kathy writes …

The fault is with the coach. DeBoer should be throwing himself and his coaching staff under the bus, not his quarterback. Did Simpson make mistakes? Of course. And DeBoer can and should dig into his players during practice.

Publicly, though, the buck stops with him. Always. Every time. That’s why he gets paid the (really really) big bucks. His quarterback is a student. Barely out of high school. And is not to be excoriated publicly after a loss he already feels very deeply about.

Shame on DeBoer for forgetting that the responsibility is his and his coaching staff’s and for putting responsibility for a loss on his players shoulders and not on his own. I don’t think you should be giving them cover for it.

Johnny in OKC writes …

You didn’t give Oklahoma enough credit. Those errors were caused by the best D-line in the country. I actually like DeBoer. He’s going to win big there. Even after we beat Tennessee and Alabama on the road, I still don’t think Brent Venables is a great head coach. Great defensive coordinator, but not head coach.

I also don’t hate Bama, but they do have an OU problem (1-5 vs. OU).

ANSWER: It’s very Alabama-like that Oklahoma fans still aren’t happy with Venables even after winning on the road this season at Tennessee and Alabama. Defense travels.

Does anyone remember how bad OU’s defenses were under previous coaching staffs? I’ll call it SEC amnesia.

Oklahoma only gained 212 total yards of offense against Alabama, but the Sooners presumably would have had more numbers in the box score if they weren’t given excellent field position on three different drives.

If Alabama turns it over three times against Auburn, then the Tide will lose the Iron Bowl and miss the College Football Playoff. An Iron Bowl at night in Jordan-Hare is going to be like nothing DeBoer and many of his players have ever experienced.

But it’s not time to give up on Alabama just yet. This team is better than it was last year, and Alabama can still advance to the SEC championship game and make the College Football Playoff. Alabama has the best win this season of any time in the playoff hunt (at Georgia). The victories against Vanderbilt, Missouri and Tennessee were all impressive.

It’s fair to wonder if DeBoer’s team is fading again, though.

I found it curious that DeBoer was so animated before the game against OU. Did he drink too many Red Bulls at kickoff, or was he trying to lift the energy level of a team that he sensed was too flat? It all seemed too forced.

It’s like DeBoer knew another letdown was coming and was trying his best to inject some passion into his players. Nick Saban kept his teams focused by injecting the fear of God into everyone on the sideline.

That’s not DeBoer’s style, and that’s fine, but if Alabama loses to Auburn and misses the playoff again, then DeBoer will have to reevaluate his approach to the offseason.

I still believe in DeBoer, but this much is undeniable. His team couldn’t match OU’s fight last season and it was the same story on Saturday.

Not only that, Alabama’s offense was a mess at the end of the 2024 season and we’re beginning to see some of those same patterns.

Was it mostly a Milroe problem in 2024? Was it Nick Sheridan, the previous offensive coordinator? I was unsure. It seemed like a combination of things. DeBoer then hired his old offensive coordinator, Ryan Grubb.

Problem solved, right?

It all comes down to the Iron Bowl.

Grubb’s razzle-dazzle style is fun to watch, but it might help to have some more substance in the running game behind all the flash. Is Alabama’s offense too predictable at this point of another season?

If so, then it will be exposed inside Jordan-Hare. Like Venables at OU, Auburn’s DJ Durkin is another defensive-minded coach.

MAILBAG SOUND OFF

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