Kalen DeBoer\u2019s been coming on strong in college football headlines lately, and it\u2019s not necessarily that he\u2019s Alabama\u2019s head coach; it\u2019s that he\u2019s beginning to leave his mark on the program in a significant way. To boot, they have added DeBoer to the 2025 Dodd Trophy preseason watch list, a high honors coaching award that Alabama fans have come to know well courtesy of the Nick Saban years. But even with all the good, there\u2019s a feeling that the pressure is just beginning to build. CBS Sports recently placed DeBoer\u2019s \u201chot seat\u201d rating at 2.33. Which is to say he\u2019s \u201call good\u2026for now,\u201d but the expectations are stratospheric, and everybody knows it.<\/p>\n
Succeeding Nick Saban is like entering a theater where the previous performance was a legend, every step observed, every outcome analyzed. Kalen DeBoer had a good inaugural year, but not great: 9-4, which for many programs would be a victory, but at Alabama is merely \u2018okay.\u2019 Fans and media parse each decision made by Nick Saban\u2019s long shadow. He admits to the pressure. But here\u2019s the best part: DeBoer doesn\u2019t candy-coat the grind.<\/p>\n
During the Sanford Sports night, Kalen DeBoer speaks candidly about the bitter truth as he assumed the Alabama reins. \u201cThe timing of everything happening in the middle of January last year was one of the hardest things I\u2019ve ever been a part of,\u201d Deboer says during the press conference.<\/a> \u201cThat was intense because you\u2019re trying to keep a roster and a portal open for your guys to go and leave. But I think that my experiences and then just knowing how hard it is, have certainly helped set it up to where I felt prepared and ready to go.\u201d DeBoer arrived from the West Coast, where he\u2019d constructed winners at Washington and Fresno State, but nothing could\u2019ve really gotten him ready for the SEC grind and the pressure at Alabama.<\/p>\n ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n DeBoer continues, \u201cI think that again, you go back to the things that prepared you for that. It\u2019s on a different level, but when we were at Sioux Falls, everyone gave us their best shot.\u201d It\u2019s not just a coach speaking; it\u2019s the reality he learned the hard way, as the Tide struggled in games they were supposed to win, including a stunning loss to Vanderbilt. The first in 40 years. That loss happened shortly after a signature victory over Georgia, and it was a body blow that highlighted just how quickly the script can turn in Tuscaloosa. The reality check didn\u2019t end there. Later in the season, after a dominating win at LSU, Alabama had a lackluster, lifeless effort against Oklahoma and lost 24-3.<\/p>\n For fans accustomed to Saban\u2019s teams, which never lost to unranked teams and always appeared invincible, witnessing Alabama appear unready was disconcerting. It\u2019s not X\u2019s and O\u2019s. Kalen DeBoer has been candid about the emotional cost<\/a>. The grind of having to live up to the legend that is what came before, the stress from fans that anticipate greatness every season, and the fact that at Alabama, a 9-4 season constitutes a disappointment, not a success. The change wasn\u2019t only about football; it was about culture, about understanding that detail is everything, and every week is a fight. But rather than retreating from the test, he has gone headfirst into it. He has spoken of continuity, of creating something that will last, and of not getting blindsided again. Those are the lessons he brings with him from Sioux Falls to Tuscaloosa.<\/p>\n ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Ty Simpson\u2019s leadership under the microscope<\/p>\n