Alabama head football coach Kalen DeBoer under serious fire amidst disappointing season | Sporting News

Kalen Deboer’s first season at Alabama has been lackluster, especially by the standards Nick Saban brought to the Crimson Tide. As such, many Alabama fans have already begun calling for his removal from the football program.

Not unlike USC’s Lincoln Riley, who’s found himself in a similar situation, DeBoer experienced much success before taking his position with the Tide. His previous job at Washington was a resounding success. 

The Huskies’ official site describes DeBoer fondly, stating “In his first year at UW, he led the Huskies to a, 11-2 overall record, including a 3-0 mark against ranked teams, and a win over Texas in the Valero Alamo Bowl. His Huskies swept its three Northwest rivals, finished in a tie for second in the Pac-12, and he was named Pac-12 Co-Coach of the Year. He was also the Associated Press Pac-12 Coach of the Year and, at the 88th annual Seattle Sports Star of the Year Awards in Feb., 2023, earned the inaugural Seattle Sports Leader of the Year Award.

“Not only were 11 wins in 2022 three more than any first-year head coach in UW history had ever compiled, DeBoer was the first UW football coach ever to win a bowl game in his first season.”

Logic follows that DeBoer should then, hypothetically, perform even better with the Crimson Tide’s immense talent. Yet, he’s struggled to get the reigns on his team, suffering brutal losses to Vanderbilt, Tennessee, and, worst of all, a brutal beatdown by an incredibly subpar Oklahoma team.

The Tide lost that Oklahoma matchup 24-3, despite the Sooners passing for just 68 yards throughout the entire game. This marked the first time since 2004 that the Tide had scored so few points. Worst of all, DeBoer’s squad even opened the scoring of the game, scoring the only points in the first quarter– they just seemingly figured that was enough for the whole game.

With this loss, the Tide will most likely miss the College Football Playoff this season, despite the recently introduced 12-team field.

Amidst such a disappointing season, many Alabama fans have already begun calling for DeBoer’s head. One disgruntled fan on X stated that “Kalen DeBoer destroying what Nick Saban built at Alabama in seven games is just d— impressive.”

One fan even went as far as to speculate that Alabama could, theoretically, fire DeBoer before the end of the Iron Bowl to save on buyout money. Will Alabama do that?

Absolutely not. Even if one sets the possibility of this insane theory aside, the legal ramifications would be immense.

Whatever the case, it is immensely clear that DeBoer’s days in Tuscaloosa may be numbered– especially if he isn’t able to perform up to snuff in the Iron Bowl.