Why Kalen DeBoer is OK with Alabama Being Under the Radar

The Crimson Tide head coach explains why Alabama must prove itself, as "a lot of new faces" have played a big role in the program's unfamiliar position.

Alabama Head Coach Kalen DeBoer at 2026 SEC Media Days in Tampa | Obtained from Alabama Football's X/Twitter

For the last couple of decades, Alabama has been The Standard of college football and a program that is considered the face of the sport.

The Crimson Tide's prestigious status was led by head coach Nick Saban, but he announced his retirement after the 2023 season. Kalen DeBoer has filled Saban's role the last two years, and while Alabama made the College Football Playoff last season, it hasn't necessarily lived up to being the mecca.

Entering the 2026 season, Alabama is still being talked about, but not nearly as much as some other teams like Indiana, Ohio State, Texas, Georgia and more. The Tide is in an unfamiliar spot with its lack of being the face of the sport, but DeBoer doesn't mind that at all.

"Yeah, I mean, I understand why — there's a lot of new faces — and that's OK because we've got to go prove it," DeBoer said at SEC Media Days in Tampa on Wednesday morning. "We do. We've got to go out and we've got to get the job done. That's really how I feel every year. It doesn't matter how many guys you return.

"Last year we returned, I think it was at 16 seniors, and we had to go prove it. We had to do some things, not just talk it. We had to decide what we were going to accomplish, decide and commit to the process, commit to what we needed to do to get it done and then make sure that the action supported the goals that we had.

"And so, this team has a lot of new faces. For us, we felt again we took some good steps in the right direction a year ago. We feel like there's a foundation of toughness and resiliency, as I mentioned earlier. But there's also some things that we've got to continue to get better. So until we prove it. We understand where there's going to be doubt because those expectations, as we talked about, are extremely high in the program."

Saban has been an analyst for ESPN's College GameDay since he retired, and he's also serving on SEC Network's panel for the annual conference event. Before DeBoer was even asked about being under the radar, Saban acknowledged the narrative.

"I think the one thing about Alabama this year is that they're flying under the radar a little bit, a little bit unknown," Saban said. "I kind of actually like that as a head coach because when we were picked high, I always worried about how is this going to affect our offseason, our preparation, the culture that you're trying to develop with the team. Maybe coach DeBoer really likes the fact that they are flying under the radar a little."

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