Stephen A. Smith Blasts SEC Coach During Heated On-Air Rant

ESPN's loudest voice wants the Crimson Tide to fire a coach who just went 11-4, won a playoff game and signed the best class in the SEC

ESPN's Stephen A. Smith continues to attack this SEC head coach for no good reason. | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

ESPN's resident trash-talker, Stephen A. Smith, does not do quiet, and on Tuesday at SEC Media Days, he turned it all the way up on Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer.

Sitting alongside Paul Finebaum and Jordan Rodgers, the First Take host was asked a simple question: who enters 2026 under more pressure, DeBoer or LSU's Lane Kiffin?

Smith did not just pick DeBoer becuase he went on to use the moment to demand Alabama fire him.

What Stephen A. Smith said about Kalen DeBoer

Smith opened by pulling out Nick Saban's resume and unfairly laying it beside DeBoer's like an eviction notice.

"We're talking about the successor to Nick Saban. We're talking 17 seasons, six national titles, nine SEC championships. The man went 117-18. Okay? This man, all right? It took him about six years to lose eight games. Kalen DeBoer has lost that many games his first two years there. He's lost four games each season. They were lucky to get to the postseason," Smith said.

Then he got to the part where he wants the coach gone.

ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith firmly believes that Alabama HC Kalen DeBoer is not “the guy” to lead the Crimson Tide for the future.

“Give him the money to just go away,” Smith said, “Call him Jimbo Fisher. Call him Brian Kelly. Do something. Get rid of him, because he ain’t the… pic.twitter.com/i6IGmhl2hV

— Crimson Coverage (@CrimsonCoverage) July 21, 2026

"You've got Alabama fans talking about buying the man out. Give him the money just to go away. Call him Jimbo Fisher. Call him Brian Kelly. All right, do something. Get rid of him because he ain't the guy. And you're sitting here saying that Lane Kiffin, who just got there, OK, barely had an opportunity to change clothes. Hasn't coached the game yet. And he's under more pressure than Kalen DeBoer??? What's wrong with you, Jordan? What is wrong with you?"

This isn't new. Back in February on Finebaum's show, Smith said, "I'm not a fan of Kalen DeBoer as a successor to Nick Saban," while adding he has no problem with him as a coach. He has floated Deion Sanders as a replacement more than once. There'd have to be another entire article about that because Sanders hasn't done that much at Colorado besides generate headlines. So the rant in Tampa was less a hot take than the latest chapter in a running grudge.

The record Stephen A. Smith is ignoring

Check the standings and don't sweat the technique. DeBoer is 20-8 over two seasons at Alabama.

Last year, the Waseca, Minnesota, native went 11-4, beat No. 5 Georgia, No. 11 Tennessee, No. 14 Missouri, got revenge on Oklahoma in the first round of the College Football Playoff and lost to Indiana, the team that went on to win the national title. Two of those four losses came against playoff teams.

If Alabama fans could make the change, they'd probably give head coach Kalen DeBoer his walking papers. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Off the field, the former Washington coach is not exactly failing. Alabama signed the second-ranked class in the country for 2026 and the best in the SEC, with four five-star recruits.

The Crimson Tide added 17 transfers on top of it. When your program keeps stacking top-three classes and winning double-digit games, "get rid of him because he ain't the guy" is a strange conclusion.

Why blaming Kalen DeBoer misses the bigger picture

The demand that DeBoer replicate Saban is not a standard any coach can meet. Saban's 117-18 run at Alabama was one of the most dominant stretches the sport has ever seen, and it will not happen again for anyone, anywhere.

There is also a wider truth Smith skips past. No SEC team has won a national championship since Georgia in the 2022 season. The Big Ten has won the last three, with Michigan, Ohio State and Indiana. This is a conference-wide problem, not a DeBoer problem.

The SEC has not answered the Big Ten's rise, and part of that is money. Alabama entered 2026 with a reported roster-spend of around $37.2 million, eighth nationally and behind Texas at $47.9 million, Ohio State at $43.5 million and even LSU at $42.8 million. The Crimson Tide does not have the single mega-donor other programs are leaning on.

Former college football coach Nick Saban left an indelible mark on the sport and Alabama football. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Then there is the uncomfortable history behind the standard Smith is holding DeBoer to. Alabama's dominance drew years of whispers about paying players, and the program has a documented record of NCAA violations dating back well before Saban, including a 2002 bowl ban and later sanctions.

The Saban-era "under the table" talk, though, was never proven, and Saban himself has publicly insisted the Tide never bought a player. However, former Tide star Najee Harris may have let the cat out of the bag a couple of years ago. So the ruler DeBoer is being measured against was built during an era whose methods are still argued about.

Smith is entitled to his voice and volume, but as the kids say, the math ain't mathin' when demanding so much of DeBoer.