Kalen DeBoer’s first two seasons at Alabama have been a mixed bag. The Crimson Tide made the College Football Playoff last year, which sounds great until you remember they got absolutely wrecked by Indiana in the Rose Bowl. That 52-24 loss in Pasadena was ugly, and it gave DeBoer’s critics plenty of ammo heading into Year Three.
But ESPN’s Heather Dinich is not among those critics. She recently ranked DeBoer inside her top 10 coaches list, which raised some eyebrows given the hot-and-cold results so far. Dinich defended the ranking by pointing to his track record at every stop before Alabama.
“It means I believe he has been able to win at every stop with fewer resources and less talent — and it’s only a matter of time before he gets the Tide back,” she said.
Dinich didn’t stop there. She pulled out a stat that actually makes DeBoer look pretty good: he has 20 wins over top 25 teams since 2021. That’s the second most among active college coaches. Not bad for a guy who’s supposedly on the hot seat.
The Saban Shadow is Still Long
Look, nobody is saying DeBoer has been perfect. The regular season loss to Oklahoma stung, even if Alabama got revenge in the playoff. But replacing Nick Saban was always going to be a nightmare scenario. The guy won six national titles. He built a dynasty that made Alabama the standard for two decades. Anybody walking into that locker room was going to face impossible expectations.
Dinich acknowledged that reality.
“Bama fans don’t have patience, but that’s what it’s going to take, along with an understanding that the days of Nick Saban-esque dynasties are probably over,” she said.
She doubled down on that point too.
“DeBoer is a proven winner, but taking over for Saban was a lose-lose situation for anyone,” she said. “Give him a minute.”
It’s worth remembering that DeBoer wasn’t some random hire. He went 25-3 at Washington and took the Huskies to the national championship game. He turned around Fresno State before that. The guy has won at places where winning is hard. Alabama is the opposite — winning is expected, not celebrated.
The Tide extended DeBoer this offseason despite the inconsistency. That tells you the front office sees something beyond the box scores. Maybe it’s the recruiting. Maybe it’s the way players talk about him. Or maybe it’s just that they know firing a coach after two years, one of which included a playoff appearance, would be a panic move that makes the job even harder for whoever comes next.
Either way, Year Three is going to tell us a lot. Alabama opens against Florida State, and the schedule doesn’t let up from there. If DeBoer can navigate that and get back to the Playoff, the critics go quiet. If not, that patience Dinich is asking for might run out faster than she thinks.
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