Anonymous coach confirms what was suspected after the Rose Bowl with the Alabama Crimson Tide and Kalen DeBoer
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One anonymous coach is saying what many have been thinking about Alabama under Kalen DeBoer, and it could signal bigger problems for the Crimson Tide.
The Alabama Crimson Tide started the Kalen DeBoer era with a kick in the groin when it lost three regular-season games and missed the College Football Playoff in the first year of an expanded field.
Then came year two, where Alabama was the regular-season SEC champions, made it to the CFP, and even won a game on the road despite being down 17 points. But then came the Rose Bowl. Sure, Alabama lost to an Indiana team that would bulldoze its way to a Natty, but it was the way it lost that created concern. Concern that has become a trend under Kalen DeBoer, and concern that some coaches are also starting to raise.
Kalen DeBoer facts at Alabama
- Recruited 5-star QBs in 2025, 2026, and 2027 recruiting classes.
- Both of his starting quarterbacks were drafted.
- Got Alabama back to the SEC Championship in only his second year.
Anonymous coach says double-digit losses under Kalen DeBoer create concern.
“Double-digit [point] losses were never a thing [under Nick Saban],” an anonymous coach told Athlon Sports about Alabama. “Now, they’re a thing. That creates concern, talking points and narratives, which is tough to deal with because the players see it.”
Of the last six losses for the Alabama Crimson Tide, four have been losses by double digits. A 24-3 loss to Oklahoma in 2024, a 31-17 loss to FSU in Week 1 of the 2025 season, a 28-7 loss in the 2025 SEC Championship Game to Georgia, and a 38-3 loss to Indiana in the 2025 Rose Bowl.
That makes for an average margin defeat just shy of 23 points per game. The Alabama Crimson Tide doesn’t lose games by three scores. It hardly lost games, period, under Nick Saban, and they rarely got their teeth kicked in.
What Kalen DeBoer has to do in year three
Despite the flaws Alabama has shown over the past two seasons, it has also shown the ability to overcome them. You don’t make the year two jump under DeBoer that Alabama did without becoming more disciplined.
You don’t go into Athens and beat the Georgia Bulldogs at home, giving UGA its first home loss since before the pandemic, without becoming better situationally in high-leverage moments.
Now it’s about putting it all together, and with a hand-picked quarterback. DeBoer has been vocal about the expectations at the Capstone, and he’s not running from them. Now it’s just putting moves and words into action.
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