Kalen DeBoer Gets Blunt About Firing Alabama Coach After Confirming Urgency
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Kalen DeBoer stuck to his plan of shaking up the coaching roster at the Alabama Crimson Tide. He chose to move on from offensive line coach Chris Kapilovic after two seasons in search of fresh impetus. Finally, DeBoer cleared the air on why he made the drastic decision. No sugarcoating, the head coach clearly wasn’t sold on the unit’s on-field results.
“It was about production,” DeBoer said. “We know we gotta be better there. Mindset and just execution, the details and the fundamentals that the guys need. A lot of new faces that are gonna be in that room, so kind of a fresh start there.”
In the 2025 season, DeBoer’s offensive line had a hard time protecting quarterback Ty Simpson. As a result, he was sacked 28 times. Former Alabama offensive lineman Mike Johnson recently took aim at the Tide’s run-blocking woes, calling out the offensive line’s performance on Tide 100.9’s Miller’s Edge.
“One of the things that I hated about watching our offense try to run the ball was the timing,” Johnson said. “The timing has to be good on the offensive side of it. If you have a puller, you don’t want the running back eight yards behind the puller.”
Kapilovic’s first year in DeBoer’s squad looked impressive. The sacks allowed decreased significantly from 49 to 24, showing significant progress. However, in 2025, the unit faced some challenges again. Despite having three starters returning, Alabama allowed 32 sacks and struggled with the rushing game, averaging only 104.13 yards per game. This kept DeBoer’s unit in 15th place in the SEC, but there’s hope for improvement ahead.
However, Kapilovic did assist DeBoer with his recruiting push, pulling in commitments from 11 new players to Alabama’s offensive line. But that itself was not enough to save his seat.
“That’s definitely gonna be a position group that’s gonna generate a lot of our attention, whether it’s mine, whether it’s Ryan Grubb’s, just the coaching staff in general that work with the offensive line,” DeBoer said. “We all gotta help our coaches learn the system quickly.”
There is already too much on DeBoer’s plate. Kapilovic is the third hole in the coaching roster. JaMarcus Sheppard jumped to Oregon State as head coach, and Nick Sheridan took the offensive coordinator job at Michigan State.
If that’s not enough pressure for DeBoer, here comes some more. Alabama’s 2026 offensive line will look very different, as the Tide must replace both on-field production and locker-room leaders. Captain Parker Brailsford and All-American Kadyn Proctor have moved on to the NFL.
Staying with the job availability, two names are doing the rounds to step into Kapilovic’s shoes.
Coaches Kalen DeBoer is counting on to fill Chris Kapilovic’s spot
When it comes to DeBoer’s coaching staff in Alabama, he has counted on his old connections from Washington. For instance, Ryan Grubb and JaMarcus Shephard tagged along with him and landed in Tuscaloosa.
Scott Huff came along, too. However, he changed his plans in February 2024 after receiving an offer from the Seattle Seahawks. He then cracked the tight ends coach role for the Los Angeles Rams in 2025. So, DeBoer might consider bringing him in.
Together with his former staff, Adrian Klemm has been catching a lot of attention. DeBoer could be counting on his impressive background to make an impact. After an exciting eight-year NFL journey, including three Super Bowls with Tom Brady, Klemm shifted into coaching. He’s gained experience at SMU and UCLA, led the offensive line at Pittsburgh, spent a year in Eugene, and now he’s back in New England, bringing his wealth of knowledge and passion.
His latest stint has been as the offensive assistant at USC. Kalen DeBoer might be counting on family ties. Klemm’s eldest son, Jalen, now plays offensive line at Arizona State, but he first lined up under DeBoer at Washington. Will DeBoer finally make the right decision to resurrect Alabama’s offensive line?
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