After worst postseason loss in Alabama history, the Tide are on the wrong side of a 'fine line' under Kalen DeBoer

[TideMan09]

Whenever I see an offense on 3rd or 4th and 1 lining up in the shotgun or pistol, it says the offensive mentality is "Oh, please don't hurt me!"

It just seems weak, soft, and scared.

Yup..I dont get that either, I don't care who you're playing, if your QB can't line up under C & bulldoze out a yard something somewhere in your football program ain't working right..

 

[Tidewater]

Yup..I dont get that either, I don't care who you're playing, if your QB can't line up under C & bulldoze out a yard something somewhere in your football program ain't working right..

I feel the same when NFL teams do that.
Phillie's "Brotherly Shove" play is as uncreative as it is unstoppable.

 

[pastorbt]

There is no violence from our guys in the trenches. There is no violent running from the backs. Every now and then, there is a little violence from a few members of the secondary. Somehow, someway, the "make his rear end quit!" mentality has to be restored. I watched the other games yesterday, offensive playcalling seemed to make much more sense than the disjointed stuff I see from ours. I like Deboer, when Saban retired, I immediately called his name as a replacement. I still think he can do the job, but part of doing the job is the right staff. I don't think we have it right now. Coach Saban needs to have a sit down with CKD, not to tell him what to do, but to give some mentor/fatherly/SECcoaching advice.

 

[Con]

If I had my wish? Demeco Ryans. Alabama alum. Head coaching experience (only in the NFL, so no recruiting experience other than being the recruit). He would be a solid hire.

This would be my choice as well.

 

[TideMan09]

And hire who?
Who are you HONESTLY gonna hire right now who will be a big improvement?
I mean if you're gonna want the coach gone at least have a list of candidates to provide.

In all honesty & I'm sure I'll get blasted for saying this..

I would take Pete Golding in a heartbeat, instead of the absolute crap we seen yesterday, say what you want about the man..

Ole Miss looked as good they did when Kiffin was there & in all honesty they looked like a better coached team under Golding..

Flame away i can handle it..

 

[JDCrimson]

In all honesty & I'm sure I'll get blasted for saying this..

I would take Pete Golding in a heartbeat, instead of the absolute crap we seen yesterday, say what you want about the man..

Ole Miss looked as good they did when Kiffin was there & in all honesty they looked like a better coached team under Golding..

Flame away i can handle it..

It remains to be seen how CPG builds and manages a staff. But I have been impressed with how he deals with the media, much better than CKD. He also appears to have a good feel for in game decisions. I dont see him making the decisions that Kiffin made or Smart made last night that get you beat. Now I still think his defense is too soft up the middle on runs and doesnt bring enough pressure especially on 3rd down.

 

[TideMan09]

It remains to be seen how CPG builds and manages a staff. But I have been impressed with how he deals with the media, much better than CKD. He also appears to have a good feel for in game decisions. I dont see him making the decisions that Kiffin made or Smart made last night that get you beat. Now I still think his defense is too soft up the middle on runs and doesnt bring enough pressure especially on 3rd down.

I can't argue against that brother, buttttt, I'd take his defense over Coach Wommack's "Swarm Defense" too be honest..

At times our D looks more lost, than our offense(let that sink in), I just dont think the Bama Standard is being met at all on either sides of the ball or in any phases of the game..

That's definitely a coaching problem..

 

[64 Grad]

Somebody mentioned Shula. My son-in-law is the track and field coach at Tulsa University and he sent me a Dave Radar, Shula's offensive coordinator and from Tulsa, quote. "Indiana just beat Alabama by 35 points, I plan to stay up all night because the rapture will soon follow." Mal Moore who knew football told Shula to get some new assistants and he refused. It that point they were both terminated. Shula probably would not have lasted long term, but at least he had a shot if he had listened to Mal. Shula lost me a little bit when he put so much time and effort into recruiting Tebow when everybody knew he was going to Florida except him. Those two things makes you wonder about Shula's coaching decision making ability in general. DeBoer is lost right now and nobody like Mal Moore is around. He better make drastic changes immediately. DeBoer's fingerprints are all over the problems at Alabama, which makes me think he will not last long term. If he does not make drastic changes now next year should be his last. Tough decisions have to be made. I saw a film of Bryant's first team meeting in 1958 and he said, "if I were a senior I would quit because you are not going to play much because we are building for the future." That could have been Bryant's way of seeing how they would react. I know he missed his starting senior quarterback, Bobby Jackson, the next year. The point being you cannot ***** foot around like DeBoer does at times.

 

[GrayTide]

He will have a chance to turn it around. Can't say I am overly optimistic until I see the changes that need to come and that starts with the staff.

I approve this post. IIRC, Mal Moore told Shula that some changes had to be made in his staff. Shula refused and subsequently was fired. Does Byrne, who hired Deboer, have the intestinal fortitude to issue the same ultimatum to Deboer, or does the size of his buyout cause Byrne to hint or try to soft sell his suggestions concerning, not a complete, but a quite major overhaul of his staff? Time will tell.

* Just saw 64 Grad's post and I heartily approve it too. Well said.

 

[rtr90]

There is no violence from our guys in the trenches. There is no violent running from the backs. Every now and then, there is a little violence from a few members of the secondary. Somehow, someway, the "make his rear end quit!" mentality has to be restored. I watched the other games yesterday, offensive playcalling seemed to make much more sense than the disjointed stuff I see from ours. I like Deboer, when Saban retired, I immediately called his name as a replacement. I still think he can do the job, but part of doing the job is the right staff. I don't think we have it right now. Coach Saban needs to have a sit down with CKD, not to tell him what to do, but to give some mentor/fatherly/SECcoaching advice.

you stole my thunder

absolutely we dont have fighters violent players anywhere .. Jam miller has it earlier in his career. Not this year.

 

[rtr90]

In all honesty & I'm sure I'll get blasted for saying this..

I would take Pete Golding in a heartbeat, instead of the absolute crap we seen yesterday, say what you want about the man..

Ole Miss looked as good they did when Kiffin was there & in all honesty they looked like a better coached team under Golding..

Flame away i can handle it..

some of the teams like Miami and Ole Miss and IU I absolutely enjoyed is how their players had energy and relished physical contact. IF you dont enjoy that I dont know why you are playing this game

 

[Moro Creek]

Golding has done a good job so far, but he has an outstanding young coach named Charlie Weiss Jr calling plays. Let's see how he does next year with a different OC. Hope he finds a good one to replace Weiss.

 

[merino]

The OL has been dismal for the past 5 years, even Saban failed to solve this glaring issue before he retired. Start by firing the OL coach, period, then pare down from there.

 

[umlb1]

Alabama gets stuffed full of humble pie, so stop giving SEC benefit of the doubt​

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/sec/2026/01/02/alabama-football-embarrassed-kalen-deboer-indiana-rose-bowl-sec-big-ten-record/87939308007/

I guess this is as good a place to post this link as any. I usually dismiss much of what Toppermeyer says, but I think he is pretty spot on here with his assessment of Alabama football at the moment, and it is a short read. To summarize the article, Toppermeyer says that Bama beat some mediocre SEC teams in our stretch run this year, but that was basically fool's gold. We are not elite, and we are more middle of the pack SEC, which right now looks less impressive than a few years ago, especially compered to the BIG. The "fine line" is not between Alabama and Indiana, but more realistically between Alabama and Illinois, as Indiana destroyed both teams this year.

I have followed Alabama football since 1971, and I can remember the best and worst of times in that 55-year span. With coaches who didn't stay long, either being fired or bolting, with the exception of Fran, it was clear that they were not a good fit at Alabama. I remember several SEC coaches lamenting the firing of Shula, saying he was such a nice guy. I think CKD is s "nice guy", but is that really what you want leading your football program? Regardless, we have CKD for a minimum of 1-3 more years, based on a massive buyout, so we had best get used to more of this if CKD is unwilling to cut loose of some inept assistant coaches and/or change his football philosophy to be more effective in the conference. My only consolation right now is that I work at Ole Miss, so at least I have a good team left to pull for in the CFP, one who could potentially win it all. And yes, it is rather impressive what CPG has done in one month with Ole Miss, despite most Bama fans' (mine included) disdain of him while he was at Bama. I think CKD needs a major reality check.

 

[92tide]

Alabama gets stuffed full of humble pie, so stop giving SEC benefit of the doubt​

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/sec/2026/01/02/alabama-football-embarrassed-kalen-deboer-indiana-rose-bowl-sec-big-ten-record/87939308007/

I guess this is as good a place to post this link as any. I usually dismiss much of what Toppermeyer says, but I think he is pretty spot on here with his assessment of Alabama football at the moment, and it is a short read. To summarize the article, Toppermeyer says that Bama beat some mediocre SEC teams in our stretch run this year, but that was basically fool's gold. We are not elite, and we are more middle of the pack SEC, which right now looks less impressive than a few years ago, especially compered to the BIG. The "fine line" is not between Alabama and Indiana, but more realistically between Alabama and Illinois, as Indiana destroyed both teams this year.

I have followed Alabama football since 1971, and I can remember the best and worst of times in that 55-year span. With coaches who didn't stay long, either being fired or bolting, with the exception of Fran, it was clear that they were not a good fit at Alabama. I remember several SEC coaches lamenting the firing of Shula, saying he was such a nice guy. I think CKD is s "nice guy", but is that really what you want leading your football program? Regardless, we have CKD for a minimum of 1-3 more years, based on a massive buyout, so we had best get used to more of this if CKD is unwilling to cut loose of some inept assistant coaches and/or change his football philosophy to be more effective in the conference. My only consolation right now is that I work at Ole Miss, so at least I have a good team left to pull for in the CFP, one who could potentially win it all. And yes, it is rather impressive what CPG has done in one month with Ole Miss, despite most Bama fans' (mine included) disdain of him while he was at Bama. I think CKD needs a major reality check.

yes the sec is "down" this season, but by no measure are we "mid-pack" in the sec. we ended the regular season atop the sec and our two sec losses were to playoff teams and we went 1-1 against both of them.

 

[editder]

Exactly & it's hard too watch..

Only consolation i enjoyed about our beat down yesterday, was the absolute misery, it had too be for the Oklahoma fan base after our win last week & yeahhhh I've come to hate The Gooner's like I do The Barn, Swamp Kittens & of course The Viles..

The only consolation for me was that it was such a decisive beat down that it didn’t drive my BP up like a nail-biter loss would have.

 

[denver]

Alabama gets stuffed full of humble pie, so stop giving SEC benefit of the doubt​

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/sec/2026/01/02/alabama-football-embarrassed-kalen-deboer-indiana-rose-bowl-sec-big-ten-record/87939308007/

I guess this is as good a place to post this link as any. I usually dismiss much of what Toppermeyer says, but I think he is pretty spot on here with his assessment of Alabama football at the moment, and it is a short read. To summarize the article, Toppermeyer says that Bama beat some mediocre SEC teams in our stretch run this year, but that was basically fool's gold. We are not elite, and we are more middle of the pack SEC, which right now looks less impressive than a few years ago, especially compered to the BIG. The "fine line" is not between Alabama and Indiana, but more realistically between Alabama and Illinois, as Indiana destroyed both teams this year.

I have followed Alabama football since 1971, and I can remember the best and worst of times in that 55-year span. With coaches who didn't stay long, either being fired or bolting, with the exception of Fran, it was clear that they were not a good fit at Alabama. I remember several SEC coaches lamenting the firing of Shula, saying he was such a nice guy. I think CKD is s "nice guy", but is that really what you want leading your football program? Regardless, we have CKD for a minimum of 1-3 more years, based on a massive buyout, so we had best get used to more of this if CKD is unwilling to cut loose of some inept assistant coaches and/or change his football philosophy to be more effective in the conference. My only consolation right now is that I work at Ole Miss, so at least I have a good team left to pull for in the CFP, one who could potentially win it all. And yes, it is rather impressive what CPG has done in one month with Ole Miss, despite most Bama fans' (mine included) disdain of him while he was at Bama. I think CKD needs a major reality check.

The journo is stretching to say the least...he is likely a B1G or ACC alum....SEC had a down year in the Bowl season but we put 5 teams in the playoffs...most losses were one possession games with the SEC the "lower" seed etc..close games but just edged out...only blowout loss was Bama...and as for being Illinois....that's ludicrous...63-10 vs 38-3 and Illinois lost other games to really bad teams. The SEC haters can have their day as it is a down year again for results..but Ole Miss could still win it all! lol This may be a banner year for results for the B1G...fortune has favored their bowl teams....let them have their day....once in a decade they are the better conference...I'll take that

 

[NorthernTide]

Change does not happen with 6 point loses! When you get your rear end handed to you, it really forces everyone to look at what they're doing. Coach Deboer is not a dummy, and he didn't get here by accident. I'm an old retired coach so I guess I have more patience than others here. I do see him, once we're through the portal period adjusting to this. I think we will see changes. The man appears to have a competitive streak as he was a pretty good player himself and has steadily evolved as a coach and won. Coach Saban wasn't the same coach at MSU that he was at Alabama. I went to my first Alabama game in 1964. I remember the beat down to Nebraska in 71. Everyone always mentions Johnny Roger's, but I remember Rich Glover man handling our OL all night. Coach Deboer is no Coach Bryant, but he has the road map. I believe he will get us there in this new NIL//PORTAL era. As Oddball same in Kelly's Heros, "have a little faith Moriarty, have a little faith ". Roll Tide!

 

[davefrat]

yes the sec is "down" this season, but by no measure are we "mid-pack" in the sec. we ended the regular season atop the sec and our two sec losses were to playoff teams and we went 1-1 against both of them.

The fact that the team that finished 1st in the regular season in the SEC got totally obliterated by the BIG champ is really disheartening.

And I think it’s a given that Alabama will be given no benefit of the doubt for quite some time to come.

 

[92tide]

The fact that the team that finished 1st in the regular season in the SEC got totally obliterated by the BIG champ is really disheartening.

And I think it’s a given that Alabama will be given no benefit of the doubt for quite some time to come.

yeah, but it still doesn't make us "mid-pack"

and we were totally obliterated by the acc champ in the 2019 nc game in a very disheartening way