$87 Million Head Coach Dealt Blunt Reality Check after Losing Starting QB

It’s not easy to take over from college football’s most-accomplished head coach at college football’s most-accomplished program, and Kalen DeBoer has certainly had his challenges over a two-year tenure that has been a mixed bag of success and failure.

This past season at least represented the appearance of progress, as the Crimson Tide played for the SEC championship, but lost to Georgia in an effort that didn’t seem up to the school’s standard.

At least this time they made the College Football Playoff, but even that stay was short-lived, and embarrassingly so, culminating in an ugly 38-3 loss to insurgent eventual national champion Indiana in the Rose Bowl.

More change for the Tide

Now, DeBoer’s program finds itself facing a new transition, away from quarterback Ty Simpson in a move that will test his coaching staff to stay relevant in 2026.

College football analyst Joel Klatt is not confident, saying he foresees the Crimson Tide on the downswing as we look ahead to next season.

'Trending down'

“I don’t love what’s going on down there,” Klatt said on his program.

“They were blown out by Georgia in the SEC Championship Game. They were blown out by Indiana. And it wasn’t just like, ‘Oh Indiana had a great day.’ No, Indiana did whatever they wanted to do. They ran the ball 50 times straight at Alabama.”

He added: “They have been trending down, and that trend, I think, is going to continue. They’ve got to figure out their quarterback for next year. Is it gonna be Austin Mack? Keelon Russell? Zero starts between them. In an era in which experience is everything that you need at that position.”

No longer king of the SEC

DeBoer’s efforts have put Alabama further down in the SEC pecking order than we’re used to seeing in recent years, Klatt said.

“We all just assume that this program is going to be just fine and they’ll be great. But the reality is that they have quickly descended into a place that, when I think about their conference, I don’t think about them initially, and I don’t even think about them in the top three,” Klatt said.

“When I think about the SEC, I immediately think of Georgia and Texas and, oh by the way, Alabama.”

A long term issue?

The emergence of other contenders in the SEC combined with the mixed handover from Saban to DeBoer could spell long-term trouble for the Crimson Tide.

“They are on a trajectory that is down, and I don’t think that that is going to stop. They have to level out at some point in order to start going back up,” Klatt added.

“But I don’t sense that moment of them leveling out. I think that win against Georgia on the road last year was fantastic. There’s no doubt. But man, I don’t see this team turning it around. I don’t love what’s going on down there.”

(Klatt)

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