Welcome to Bama: DeBoer Receives an End Date On His Job

Kalen DeBoer was on the job as the Alabama football coach for exactly 11 days when he learned just how long it will last.

He's got four years.

At least that's how much time Clay Travis gives him. Travis is a self-made Southern mouthpiece, a guy who could be labeled as a shock jock.

More specifically, he's a former writer for Deadspin and Fanhouse, a sports radio talk show host and someone who founded and runs his own website, Outkickthecoverage.com.

To the point, he's a guy with a lot of outlandish opinions and his 1 million YouTube subscribers tend to believe them.

On Tuesday, Travis was asked if the new Crimson Tide football coach will put the fear into his opponents similar to what Nick Saban did over his 17 seasons in Tuscaloosa.

"Zero. That is the answer because Kalen DeBoer will be fired in about four years," Travis said without any hesitation on a talk show. "Alabama fans are going to have completely unrealistic expectations. What I think Alabama fans are going to recognize, and I think a lot of them already knew this but are seeing it now even clearer, is Alabama didn't have a dynasty — Nick Saban had a dynasty."

While DeBoer couldn't have found a bigger supporter in Seattle than the popular sports radio host who doesn't hide the fact he's a self-avowed Husky fan, the corresponding Southern voice with a long reach already is writing DeBoer's epitaph before the man coaches his first game.

Welcome to Alabama.

Having Clay Travis bet against him is the best thing that’s happened to DeBoer since he got hired. https://t.co/6jUq60uitR
— Michael Casagrande (@ByCasagrande) January 23, 2024

Travis is not alone in taking a few pot shots at the new guy in charge of the Crimson Tide. Within the fan base, plenty of skeptics have emerged to nitpick DeBoer, though not with the full-on fury of Travis.

One social-media poster identified as Jackson didn't predict the coach's demise, just when things will begin to turn sour for him.

"A few de-commitments have hurt, but Bama will still be a top 5 or 10 talented roster and DeBoer took Washington to the championship game last year with one-tenth the talent. Yes, Bama fans won’t know how to handle being just a normal good team instead of a dynasty. They’re going to lose two or three games this year and DeBoer will be instantly on the hot seat."

A growing complaint for the new Crimson Tide coach is he doesn't have a Southern background, nor any experience in the Southeastern Conference, and that will hurt him and his ability to recruit at a high level.

"He doesn't seem to enjoy recruiting," one critic said with a whine.

DeBoer also was asked about bringing multiple Husky players or recruits recently to Alabama and gaining commitments, as if he might be better off looking somewhere else.

The coach had to explain himself, that insider knowledge goes a long way.

"I want nothing but the places I’ve invested a lot of time in to be successful in the future — that’s Washington, Fresno State — and those places are special places," he said. "You want to be part of the legacy looking back that you continue to build on. The people after you, they may be even better than when you were there. There was a few guys in the portal that if they’re gonna go anywhere other than Washington, I certainly want to have them here because I trust and believe in them."

So it's been a fun two weeks for Kalen DeBoer, now trying to build a Southern legacy. Remember, he wanted this coaching job, where they will put you through the ringer over just about anything football-minded at anytime.

Twenty-one years ago, not all of these people wanted Washington State's Mike Price to coach at Alabama, and look how that turned out — with his firing without coaching a game. It came following a donor outing that ended up with a reported visit to a strip joint and other alleged nefarious deeds for a high-profile coach. We're still waiting for the movie to be made explaining how everything came down in putting him into a compromising situation.

Following a football legend in Nick Saban is one thing, but dealing with all of the crazies who dissect Alabama football with apparently nothing else better to do will continue to be an eye-opener for him.

At least DeBoer knows exactly how long this plumb job of his is going to last.

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