Kalen DeBoer has the toughest job in college football and arguably the toughest job in all of sports.
He replaced Nick Saban as head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide.
The Tide poached him after a successful stint with the Washington Huskies, and they were confident that he would be able to handle the pressure of being “the guy” to replace “the guy.”
Through two seasons, he’s largely been successful. He’s gone 20-8 and led the Tide to the College Football Playoff last season. They even beat the Oklahoma Sooners in the first round, though that was followed by a 38-3 drubbing at the hands of the Indiana Hoosiers in the Rose Bowl.
Kalen DeBoer has been good but not great
That 20-8 record works in DeBoer’s favor as he enters year three. That’s a .714 winning percentage.
The problem he’s facing is the shadow of Saban, which always looms over Tuscaloosa. Winning is good at Alabama, but the only thing that matters is championships.
Working against DeBoer are several “bad” losses, which included a road loss to Vanderbilt in 2024, a 28-7 loss to the Georgia Bulldogs in the 2025 SEC Championship Game and the aforementioned Rose Bowl loss to Indiana.
Could DeBoer be on the hot seat heading into 2026?
Notably, ESPN’s Rece Davis was recently asked on “The Pat McAfee” show which head coaches he thought could be on the hot seat, and he sort of mentioned DeBoer.
“I think the easy answer people would say Kalen DeBoer at Alabama, but I just don’t think his job is in any jeopardy, barring you know just some type of empty elevator shaft season, and I don’t see that at all,” Davis said (h/t On3).
CBS broadcaster Danny Kanell is not as confident in DeBoer. Davis thinks it would take a terrible season for the head coach in Tuscaloosa to lose his job. Kanell suggests danger could be much closer to a mediocre season than anything.
Could an 8-4 season doom Kalen DeBoer with the Alabama Crimson Tide?
“If they go 8-4, they almost ran him off last year … They made the College Football Playoff and they almost ran them off,” Kanell recently said on Sirius XM (h/t On3). “I think if they go 8-4, all those conversations crop back up. Now, the reality: Do they make that call? Do they cut the massive buyout check? Probably not, but that would make for a really uncomfortable offseason.”
