Why Year 3 Has Been Pivotal for Alabama Football Head Coaches

Kalen DeBoer has never shied away from the expectations that come with a place like Alabama. It's why he took the job after legendary head coach Nick Saban announced his retirement in January 2023.

DeBoer has a 20-8 record over his first two seasons with the Crimson Tide, taking Alabama to the SEC championship game and quarterfinals of the College Football Playoff last season. That run earned DeBoer a contract extension through 2033 with an annual salary of $12.5 million, signifying the administration's pleasure with the direction the program is headed and making it highly unlikely that Alabama will make a coaching change after the 2026 season regardless of the results.

Because DeBoer is following the dynasty Saban built, good isn't always good enough for Alabama fans. Championships matter, and DeBoer has not won any in Tuscaloosa so far. He has the chance to do so in 2026 as he enters his third season.

You may have had a teacher or professor tell you that we learn history so that it doesn't repeat itself, and while it doesn't always repeat, it can teach us things. And history shows that Year 3s have been critical for Alabama football head coaches, going back to Wallace Wade leading the Crimson Tide to its first national title in his third season in 1925 with a win over Washington in the Rose Bowl.

Dating back to Billy Curry in 1989, every Crimson Tide head coach has reached double-digit wins during his third season. Sometimes those seasons with at least 10 wins led to national championships that season or the next, and sometimes it created expectations that the coach could not live up to the following year.

Winning at least 10 games this year is a minimum expectation for DeBoer in 2026. How far past that can he get? Will he be like Saban and Gene Stallings and win a national title in Year 3? Will he be like Ray Perkins or Mike DuBose with a strong third season that just creates even higher expectations for Year 4?

Here's a deep dive into what each Alabama football coach since Bear Bryant* did in his third season with the Crimson Tide:

*Dennis Franchione only coached two seasons at Alabama from 2001 to 2002 before leaving for Texas A&M. Mike Price was named the head coach prior to the 2003 season but got fired before he could coach a game.

1. Bear Bryant (1958-1982)- Year 3 record: 8-2-1

Alabama fans arrive at Bryant Denny Stadium under the gaze of the Bear Bryant statue before the Alabama vs. Louisiana game in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on Saturday September 29, 2018. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Well before Saban, there was "the Bear." Alabama had won multiple national title prior to Bryant's arrival, but he built the program's first true dynasty with six national championships during his tenure. In Year 3, Alabama started the regular season with an upset win over Georgia and ended it with an Iron Bowl victory over Auburn.

While he did not win a championship in his third season in 1960 with an 8-2-1 record, it set the table for what was to come the next year and proved that he was on the right track. Bryant led the Tide to an undefeated season in 1961 with a victory in the Sugar Bowl to win his first national championship at Alabama.

2. Ray Perkins (1983-1986)- Year 3 record: 9-2-1

Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Ray Perkins on the field during the 1986 season. Mandatory Credit: Malcolm Emmons-USA TODAY NETWORK | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Perkins was in a similar position to DeBoer: stepping in to replace an Alabama legend. He had the unenviable task of replacing Bryant, who he played for in the mid 60s. Perkins was up to the task after four seasons in the NFL with the New York Giants.

In his third season in 1985, he won nine games, including a bowl victory over USC. It showed that Perkins had what it takes to win at Alabama, but Tide fans were used to winning at an even higher level.

Perkins went 10-3 the next year and then decided to go back to the NFL to become the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

3. Bill Curry (1987-1989)- Year 3 record: 10-2 *SEC Championship

Billy Curry — Jan 2, 1988; Tampa, FL; USA; FILE PHOTO; Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Bill Curry on the sidelines against the Michigan Wolverines during the 1988 Hall of Fame Bowl at Tampa Stadium. Michigan won the game 28-24. Mandatory Credit: RVR Photos-USA TODAY Sports | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Curry only spent three seasons in Tuscaloosa but his third year was the best of the three, going 10-2 (6-1 SEC) to finished tie for first in the Southeastern Conference and earning the title of SEC Coach of the Year. He showed signs of improvement each year with seven wins in 1987, nine in 1988 before the 10-win season in 1989.

However, that would be his final season in Tuscaloosa. Because of a restless Crimson Tide fanbase and some contract disputes with the administration, Curry left to be the head coach at Kentucky. He never won more than six games in a single season with the Wildcats and finished with a 26-52 record over six seasons.

Curry did make a return trip to Bryant-Denny Stadium in 2010 when he was the head coach of Georgia State in the program's inaugural season. Alabama won 63-7.

4. Gene Stallings (1990-1996)- Year 3 record: 13-0 *National Title and SEC Championship

Stallings won his lone national title with the Crimson Tide during his third season. Alabama went 11-0 in the 1992 regular season, earning a spot in the first-ever SEC Championship Game. The Tide beat Florida 28-21 to thanks to a pick-six by Antonio Langham late in the fourth quarter, securing Alabama's spot in the Sugar Bowl against No. 1 Miami.

Alabama was a big underdog to a Miami team that had won 29 straight games, but the Tide dominated the Hurricanes, intercepting Heisman winner Gino Toretta three times.

The 1992 season was historic on so many levels for a storied Alabama program. While Stallings never won another national title, he consistently had the Tide competing for the SEC championship before his resignation after the 1996 season.

5. Mike DuBose (1997-2000)- Year 3 record: 10-3 *SEC Championship

Pencil DuBose in as another coach who had his best year in Tuscaloosa during his third season. He came into a tough situation with Alabama on reduced scholarships because of NCAA violations, but he had things turned around by Year 3.

During the 1999 season, Alabama won 10 games, beat Auburn in Jordan-Hare for the first time ever, knocked off No. 5 Florida in the SEC championship game and finished the season inside the top-10 for the first time in five years.

Because of this, the expectations for DuBose and the Crimson Tide were sky high heading into the 2000 season. DuBose did come anywhere close to meeting those expectations. Alabama lost the season opener at UCLA, suffered home losses to Southern Miss and UCF and finished the season 3-8. DuBose was fired during the middle of the season but was allowed to close out the year with the team.

6. Mike Shula (2003-2006)- Year 3 record: 10-2

Year 3 was Shula's best season in Tuscaloosa.

Technically, every Crimson Tide win during Shula's third season was vacated, but on the field, Alabama went 10-2 with a win in the Cotton Bowl. After a few seasons of frustration and mediocrity with multiple coaching changes, the Alabama fanbase was desperate to get get back to national prominence. A dominant 31-3 win over No. 5 Florida on Oct. 5, 2005 was enough to land starting quarterback Brodie Croyle on the cover of Sports Illustrated with the title, "Bama is Back."

Alabama started out the season 9-0 and got up to No. 4 in the polls before losing a heartbreaker at home to LSU in overtime and then closed out the regular season with a loss at Auburn in the Iron Bowl. Unfortunately for Shula, he could not sustain the success of 2005 season and was fired at the end of 2006 after going 6-6 that year.

7. Nick Saban (2007-2023): Year 3 record: 14-0 *National Title and SEC Championship

Saban put the Tide back on the map in Year 2 with an undefeated regular season before falling to Florida in the 2008 SEC Championship Game. He officially kicked off the dynasty in Year 3 though with a 14-0 season, avenging the loss to the Gators in the SEC title game and beating Texas in the BCS championship game to win his first of six national titles with the Crimson Tide. While 2008 put people on alert, the 2009 season set the tone for what Saban was about to build in Tuscaloosa.

Not only did Saban bring Alabama back to the peak of college football during his third season, the program accomplished an individual accolade it never had before with running back Mark Ingram winning the Heisman in 2009. Three more Crimson Tide players would win the trophy during Saban's tenure, but the first one was very special for the program and fans.

8. Kalen DeBoer (2023-???)- Year 3 record: TBD

What will happen with DeBoer's squad in Year 3? That remains to be determined, but BamaCentral will have you covered with all the action beginning on Sept. 5 against East Carolina.

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