After 12 games we're 9-3. Let's revisit our thoughts and outlook on Coach Kalen DeBoer

[CrimsonTitles]

I mean the whole team didn't look like they even cared.

We had everything on the line and we weren't prepared nor did we make adjustments.

He's the HC is he not?

He can make a QB change when the guy out there can't complete a pass unless it's to the other team.

He just stood there and watched us get shellacked 24-3

That's a total HC failure that destroyed the season and wasted a ton of talent.

Well there's obviously a reason he's not making a change. There's very little chance that reason is incompetence. So let's say we put Ty in during the Oklahoma game. Then what? This is a hostile environment, and the guy has never had any meaningful in game stats. Is it reasonable to expect much better than what we're getting? Probably not. All you're doing in that case is taking a gamle and possibly killing Ty's confidence. DeBoer really didn't have a choice, and some of that is on Saban. Saban didn't give Ty meaningful snaps, either. Remember, even Mac Jones struggled in his first start. I also think the scheme we installed this year is another reason why Ty never got a shot. Milroe can't run DeBoer 's offense, and by the same token, the other QBs aren't really adept at running the offense we tailor made for Milroe.

 

[tusks_n_raider]

Well there's obviously a reason he's not making a change. There's very little chance that reason is incompetence. So let's say we put Ty in during the Oklahoma game. Then what? This is a hostile environment, and the guy has never had any meaningful in game stats. Is it reasonable to expect much better than what we're getting? Probably not. All you're doing in that case is killing Ty's confidence. DeBoer really didn't have a choice, and some of that is on Saban. Saban didn't give Ty meaningful snaps, either. Remember, even Mac Jones struggled in his first start.

Well that's a baked in problem too.

He had chances to get Ty playing time in meaningful games all year and just never did it.

I was vocal about that issue all year and brought up how it would be unfair to throw Ty to the wolves.

But at some point you have to make a change when the QB play is as bad as it was starting around the Tenn game.

I don't think he's incompetent.

I think he thought he could get away with not preparing the same way for a .500 team as you prepare for a Ranked team in the SEC.

You have to be relentless in preparation and motivation.

But you also have to have the guts to make a bold move to not let an entire season go down the drain.

I didn't expect him to win the SEC right away or win a NC or anything crazy like that.

Just make a 12 team playoff.

He actually had a chance to be in the mix for all of it and threw it away.

The buck stops with him and when you have two of the worst losses in program history in the same season that tank the whole year that's 'Poor'.

I'd have no problem with somebody calling it an F

 

[CrimsonTitles]

Well that's a baked in problem too.

He had chances to get Ty playing time in meaningful games all year and just never did it.

I was vocal about that issue all year and brought up how it would be unfair to throw Ty to the wolves.

But at some point you have to make a change when the QB play is as bad as it was starting around the Tenn game.

I don't think he's incompetent.

I think he thought he could get away with not preparing the same way for a .500 team as you prepare for a Ranked team in the SEC.

You have to be relentless in preparation and motivation.

But you also have to have the guts to make a bold move to not let an entire season go down the drain.

I didn't expect him to win the SEC right away or win a NC or anything crazy like that.

Just make a 12 team playoff.

He actually had a chance to be in the mix for all of it and threw it away.

The buck stops with him and when you have two of the worst losses in program history in the same season that tank the whole year that's 'Poor'.

I'd have no problem with somebody calling it an F

The problem is, we only have a shell of our offense installed, and all of it is tailored for Milroe. I think that's probably another reason why Ty never got a shot. Milroe can't run DeBoer's offense, and by the same token, Simpson and the others aren't really adept at running the offense we have installed for Milroe. There are probably also other reasons we are not privy to. Milroe is probably a reason why we held as much of the roster together as we did, so there probably was some sort of backroom deal. DeBoer's hands were tied, and it's due to a myriad of reasons.

As for making the playoffs, you can't blame DeBoer for the committee making such an atrocious decision. Bama had the resume to be in, and the committee said nope. That's not DeBoer's fault.

 

[tusks_n_raider]

The problem is, we only have a shell of our offense installed, and all of it is tailored for Milroe. I think that's probably another reason why Ty never got a shot. Milroe can't run DeBoer's offense, and by the same token, Simpson and the others aren't really adept at running the offense we have installed for Milroe. There are probably also other reasons we are not privy to. Milroe is probably a reason why we held as much of the roster together as we did, so there probably was some sort of backroom deal. As for making the playoffs, you can't blame DeBoer for the committee making such an atrocious decision. Bama had the resume to be in, and the committee said nope. That's not DeBoer's fault.

It's beating a dead horse but beat OU and Bama is in the Top 8 at worst with a home playoff game. Beat Texas and you have a Top 4 Bye.

It IS CKDs fault we lost to OU.

We could rehash it all over again but in the end it's just a bunch of excuses.

Don't soil the field team wide in Norman and Alabama is in the Playoffs.

 

[CrimsonTitles]

It's beating a dead horse but beat OU and Bama is in the Top 8 at worst with a home playoff game. Beat Texas and you have a Top 4 Bye.

It IS CKDs fault we lost to OU.

We could rehash it all over again but in the end it's just a bunch of excuses.

Don't soil the field team wide in Norman and Alabama in in the Playoffs.

It's not DeBoer's fault we lost to OU. That loss is 100% on Milroe. I fail to see how you can blame the coach when it was clear that QB was the culprit for that game. We've seen it happen several times now the last few years where when Milroe faces a very good defense that is capable of shutting down both his arms and his legs, we just hit a brick wall. The rest of the team played pretty well in that game. If not for Milroe's turnovers, the defense only allowed 10 points. That's about as good as you can ask for. But when the QB is constantly giving the ball to the other team, it's difficult to win. Oklahoma is also not a bad team by any stretch. They had 2 weeks to prepare for us, and it was basically must win mode for them. You can blame DeBoer all you want, but you also gotta give a lot of credit to the OU staff. They just beat us. It happens. No reason to change my mind on DeBoer bc of one game. Before that game, everyone was praising DeBoer and basically all ready to build the statue, and then after that game, everyone was calling for his job. However, DeBoer is the same coach now as he was before the Oklahoma game, and that's a top 3 coach in college football. No, he's not the GOAT, but literally nobody is. Kirby would have missed the playoffs too this year if we had hired him instead.

 

[TideEngineer08]

D+.

Passing grade but barely.

We have talent but it is not being developed. I think the defensive coaching was ok this year, maybe B-. Offensive coaching was an F. Special Teams was ok. C+ maybe.

The good news is that the recruiting train appears to only be picking up speed. But we need better talent developers. We need better discipline and order from DeBoer. Otherwise, he will not make it past year 3.

Going 9-3 when one of those losses was at Vanderbilt as the #1 ranked team and the other was at a severely depleted Oklahoma when your postseason life was on the line will simply never cut it long term at Alabama. You can get away with that your first season following a legend. You've got to clean that up going forward if you want to stay though.

 

[Foleybammer]

Some people are all bent out of shape cause we didn't make the twelve team playoff.
If SMU plays a decent first half and eliminates Clemson we're not even having
this conversation. This is the third time in six years we've missed the playoffs.
Let's build up our roster, beat MICHIGAN and get ready for next year.

 

[UAH]

It's beating a dead horse but beat OU and Bama is in the Top 8 at worst with a home playoff game. Beat Texas and you have a Top 4 Bye.

It IS CKDs fault we lost to OU.

We could rehash it all over again but in the end it's just a bunch of excuses.

Don't soil the field team wide in Norman and Alabama is in the Playoffs.

In all sincerity DeBore has not coached with Belichick , Michigan State, LSU or the Dolphins before coming to Alabama to rebuild a dynasty. Instead he was an NAIA coach who spent a couple of years with Boise State and Washington. Just my opinion but I believe he will always be average coach in the SEC particularly with this wild west environment that is college football today.

 

[TideEngineer08]

Some people are all bent out of shape cause we didn't make the twelve team playoff.
If SMU plays a decent first half and eliminates Clemson we're not even having
this conversation. This is the third time in six years we've missed the playoffs.
Let's build up our roster, beat MICHIGAN and get ready for next year.

You are not wrong. But this year we have a 12 team playoff. The misses in 2022 and 2019 were for a 4 team playoff.

DeBoer proved something in games against Georgia, Wisconsin (before they imploded the second half of the year), and LSU. He can coach up this program to win a big game. His problem is the SEC grind. It's real. And frankly, his experience this year proves it. I guarantee if you if someone asked him, he would have to admit it.

The weekly grind of the SEC is much more difficult than anything else. You expend so much energy beating a Georgia, and turn around to play a good team in Vanderbilt that's going to punch you in the mouth. This is not the same thing as beating USC and playing Cal the next week. You go on the road and destroy LSU and get Oklahoma in Norman the next week. 5 WRs out or not, it's not like beating Oregon and playing UCLA next.

So yes, even Coach Saban missed the playoffs. But he did not miss them like that. He's got to advance and advance quickly or he's the next Bill Curry.

 

[tusks_n_raider]

In all sincerity DeBore has not coached with Belichick , Michigan State, LSU or the Dolphins before coming to Alabama to rebuild a dynasty. Instead he was an NAIA coach who spent a couple of years with Boise State and Washington. Just my opinion but I believe he will always be average coach in the SEC particularly with this wild west environment that is college football today.

I could go either way right now.

I do want to see what he can do running his full offense with His Alabama players and if having a consistent offense will help the defense as well.

We faced a lot of challenges this year with the portal and being forced to play a lot of young guys.

It's not even the X's and O's that have me worried but it's more the preparation and discipline issues that have me worried.

Maybe this is just how CFB will be now.

Parity and continuous roster shuffling from the portal.

But there is no excuse for not looking prepared on gameday nor giving sufficient answers afterwards for the things that go awry.

I would also not be opposed to re-examining the Offensive staff. He had to scramble after Grubb left him high and dry and the gameday playcalling was too little feast and too much famine and no consistency and absolutely zero adjustments.

He's burned through the honeymoon phase for sure and Year 2 will give us a better picture of where we are headed.

If we don't improve and make the field next year then Year 3 is going to be Playoffs or Bust.

 

[CrimsonTitles]

I am really glad Greg Byrne is our AD, and not some of our fans. Most everyone saying this year was a huge disappointment had us winning 9-10 games in the preseason. Is it unfortunate we lost to Vandy and Oklahoma? Yes. However, both of those teams won 6 games in the toughest conference in America by far. Seems to me neither of those teams are near as bad as everyone is making them out to be. If I slept through the entire college football season and woke up and heard everyone talk about our "bad losses", and knew nothing else about the season, I would have assumed we lost to a few 3-loss teams. But nope, they're both bowl teams. Nobody respects bowl games anymore, but bowl eligibility has always, for as long as I've been around, been the mark of a decent team. And everyone wants to focus on the losses. How about the wins? We beat Georgia, and continued to put Kirby in his place. We beat a very good South Carolina team. We stomped Missouri, LSU, and we stomped Auburn everywhere but the scoreboard. And did I mention we beat Georgia? Some of us consider UGA to be our biggest rival these days, so that's huge, and far outweighs any negative from losing to 2 bowl teams.

 

[NoNC4Tubs]

It's not DeBoer's fault we lost to OU. That loss is 100% on Milroe. I fail to see how you can blame the coach when it was clear that QB was the culprit for that game. We've seen it happen several times now the last few years where when Milroe faces a very good defense that is capable of shutting down both his arms and his legs, we just hit a brick wall. The rest of the team played pretty well in that game. If not for Milroe's turnovers, the defense only allowed 10 points. That's about as good as you can ask for. But when the QB is constantly giving the ball to the other team, it's difficult to win. Oklahoma is also not a bad team by any stretch. They had 2 weeks to prepare for us, and it was basically must win mode for them. You can blame DeBoer all you want, but you also gotta give a lot of credit to the OU staff. They just beat us. It happens. No reason to change my mind on DeBoer bc of one game. Before that game, everyone was praising DeBoer and basically all ready to build the statue, and then after that game, everyone was calling for his job. However, DeBoer is the same coach now as he was before the Oklahoma game, and that's a top 3 coach in college football. No, he's not the GOAT, but literally nobody is. Kirby would have missed the playoffs too this year if we had hired him instead.

Agree! Milroe is easy to prepare for and Venables is a very good defensive mind with 2 weeks to prepare.

Meeshigun is licking their chops...

 

[PA Tide Fan]

I am really glad Greg Byrne is our AD, and not some of our fans. Most everyone saying this year was a huge disappointment had us winning 9-10 games in the preseason. Is it unfortunate we lost to Vandy and Oklahoma? Yes. However, both of those teams won 6 games in the toughest conference in America by far. Seems to me neither of those teams are near as bad as everyone is making them out to be. If I slept through the entire college football season and woke up and heard everyone talk about our "bad losses", and knew nothing else about the season, I would have assumed we lost to a few 3-loss teams. But nope, they're both bowl teams. Nobody respects bowl games anymore, but bowl eligibility has always, for as long as I've been around, been the mark of a decent team. And everyone wants to focus on the losses. How about the wins? We beat Georgia, and continued to put Kirby in his place. We beat a very good South Carolina team. We stomped Missouri, LSU, and we stomped Auburn everywhere but the scoreboard. And did I mention we beat Georgia? Some of us consider UGA to be our biggest rival these days, so that's huge, and far outweighs any negative from losing to 2 bowl teams.

It's because we beat those good teams you mention that the Vandy and OU losses are considered "bad losses". They weren't bad teams but they were worse teams than the ones we beat so we should have beat them as well. We were certainly capable. In the preseason I predicted we'd have a 9-3 season but I didn't expect this. If someone had told me before the season that we'd beat Georgia and LSU then I would have predicted an 11-1 season. I can't really say those good wins we had outweighed those 2 losses because those good wins weren't enough to get us in the playoff but those 2 losses were certainly enough to keep us out. What you say about it still being a decent season would have been true if we as Alabama fans would have gone into the season without any real playoff expectations.

 

[crimsonaudio]

Year one, DeBoer did fine. If you read between the lines of some of the recent comments it was obvious this team was held together with shoestring and bubble gum after Saban left, and what he allowed to develop (and thus dumped into DeBoer's lap) with LANK certainly hindered what CKD could do.

I suspect we'll see a very different team next year as many of the 'problematic' faces will be gone.

It will be interesting to see if those who are judging him so harshly will actually admit they jumped the gun when that happens.

RTR

 

[CB4]

It's because we beat those good teams you mention that the Vandy and OU losses are considered "bad losses". They weren't bad teams but they were worse teams than the ones we beat so we should have beat them as well. We were certainly capable. In the preseason I predicted we'd have a 9-3 season but I didn't expect this. If someone had told me before the season that we'd beat Georgia and LSU then I would have predicted an 11-1 season. I can't really say those good wins we had outweighed those 2 losses because those good wins weren't enough to get us in the playoff but those 2 losses were certainly enough to keep us out. What you say about it still being a decent season would have been true if we as Alabama fans would have gone into the season without any real playoff expectations.

It isn’t the losses. I think most of us expected some set backs. The thing that “bends my nose out shape” is the WAY we lost those games. No answers at Vandy. An offensive mess in Knoxville. And team still reading the press clippings after thumping LSU on the flight to Norman. This team was like a person with ADHD - “consistently inconsistent”. As @TideEngineer08 mentioned, it is about discipline. And that discipline extends to this staff as well.

My personal frustration after each of those losses was hearing our head coach roll out the “coach speak” and clique after clique, particularly after the OU. No I don’t want a CNS clone. What I want is a man that leaves absolutely no doubt this is HIS PROGRAM and things will be done HIS WAY. And that is something I haven’t seen.

If he does that, I’ll follow him to the gates of Hades.

 

[Foleybammer]

Saban without a doubt the greatest of all time but reality was when he took the field
he had better players than the opponent almost all the time, Great recruiter.
Those days don't exist anymore with the portal and NIL. Plus the game has become
Quarterback centered. Jalen Milroe is not Tua, Hurts or MackJones. Give coach time
to bring in his players then grade him.

 

[tusks_n_raider]

Year one, DeBoer did fine. If you read between the lines of some of the recent comments it was obvious this team was held together with shoestring and bubble gum after Saban left, and what he allowed to develop (and thus dumped into DeBoer's lap) with LANK certainly hindered what CKD could do.

I suspect we'll see a very different team next year as many of the 'problematic' faces will be gone.

It will be interesting to see if those who are judging him so harshly will actually admit they jumped the gun when that happens.

RTR

I’m on the fence until I see the Bowl game, Spring, Fall, and the 2025 season.

I’ve been one of his long time supporters and fans from about 2022.

I’m still trying to give him a chance.

But if I’m wrong for even being on the fence with doubts I’ll own it.

I’ve been wrong lots of times and am never too stubborn to admit it.

I want everything to work out though.

I want him to be a success.

 

[PA Tide Fan]

It isn’t the losses. I think most of us expected some set backs. The thing that “bends my nose out shape” is the WAY we lost those games. No answers at Vandy. An offensive mess in Knoxville. And team still reading the press clippings after thumping LSU on the flight to Norman. This team was like a person with ADHD - “consistently inconsistent”. As @TideEngineer08 mentioned, it is about discipline. And that discipline extends to this staff as well.

My personal frustration after each of those losses was hearing our head coach roll out the “coach speak” and clique after clique, particularly after the OU. No I don’t want a CNS clone. What I want is a man that leaves absolutely no doubt this is HIS PROGRAM and things will be done HIS WAY. And that is something I haven’t seen.

If he does that, I’ll follow him to the gates of Hades.

Yes, both of those losses were following big wins and we all know who's responsible to get players refocused after big wins.

 

[CrimsonTitles]

It's because we beat those good teams you mention that the Vandy and OU losses are considered "bad losses". They weren't bad teams but they were worse teams than the ones we beat so we should have beat them as well. We were certainly capable. In the preseason I predicted we'd have a 9-3 season but I didn't expect this. If someone had told me before the season that we'd beat Georgia and LSU then I would have predicted an 11-1 season. I can't really say those good wins we had outweighed those 2 losses because those good wins weren't enough to get us in the playoff but those 2 losses were certainly enough to keep us out. What you say about it still being a decent season would have been true if we as Alabama fans would have gone into the season without any real playoff expectations.

Ir would not have mattered who we lost to. That wasn't the reason we didn't get in. SMU made their championship game, and the committee chose to reward them for it. We weren't getting in with 3 losses regardless of who we lost to. We were #11 in the final CFP poll, so the committee clearly thought we were good enough to be in the playoffs, but we were done in by these silly automatic bids. While it's disappointing to miss the playoffs, it's difficult to hold that against DeBoer, because we did finish in the top 12, so he technically did enough.

And when I give this season's job a B+, it's with the caveat of "all things considered". Everyone wants to focus on the bad, but they're ignoriing the circumstances DeBoer has had to make the most of. The NCAA has that crazy rule about players being able to transfer for 30 days after the head coach leaves, so we ended up losing a ton of talent. We lost Bond, Downs, and Amos which is more of a hit than people want to admit. And also as a result of these rules, he had to scramble to put a staff together so he could hang onto the roster. Both the OC and OL coach decided a few weeks in, that they were going to take NFL jobs. He couldn't install his offense because for one reason or another, we were stuck with a QB who couldn't run it, so he had to install a very limited scheme, the likes of which neither Sheridan nor DeBoer are very experienced at calling plays for because it's not really the type of things they try to do a ton of. On top of that, there are always going to be issues and growing pains for a first year head coach at any program. All things considered, I think DeBoer has done a very solid job, because it could be a whole heck of a lot worse. Not a ton of coaches would have been able to pull off 9-3 with all the challenges DeBoer inherited.

 

[Foleybammer]

Well said totally agree!