College Football Coach Hire Grades: Alabama

Alabama Crimson Tide: Kalen DeBoer

Why the job was open: In case you were living under a rock, the college football world was rocked when Nick Saban retired. His run of dominance has come to an end after bringing 6 national titles and 9 SEC championships to the Crimson Tide.

Coach Profile: Kalen DeBoer’s career began with humble beginnings at the University of Sioux Falls where he absolutely dominated with as many national titles as they had losses during his tenure. He goes on to show that programs should hire winning coaches, no matter where they come from. Chris Creighton at Eastern Michigan made the bold move to hire DeBoer as his OC and it worked, DeBoer helped that program get off the ground in 2016, then had a couple successful seasons as Fresno State’s OC before moving on to Indiana and helping to lead the Hoosiers to a fantastic 2019 season (so close to 9wIndiana). DeBoer got his first FBS head coaching job with Fresno State in 2020 when Tedford stepped down. Due to Covid restrictions in California DeBoer didn’t even get to have an in-person practice with his roster until shortly before they started playing, despite that they went 3-3, they followed it up with an impressive 9-3 season that included a win over UCLA and a legendary Jake Haener performance. DeBoer took over at Washington and found immediate success, a top 10 finish with wins over Oregon and Texas in 2022. Then the memorable run to a runner up finish in 2023.

Why he will succeed: There’s no better job to take over. This is a dominant program with all the resources you can ask for. National titles are not only possible they are the expectation. DeBoer comes in winning everywhere he’s been, it felt like it would only be a matter of time before he won a national field now he’s positioned to do so.

What obstacles are in the way of success: Being the guy who follows “The Guy” is never easy, but this isn’t just “The Guy.” DeBoer is replacing the GOAT. DeBoer comes in as a bit of an outsider, he’s never coached in the South, how will that impact recruiting? Criticism will come fast, any loss they aren’t supposed to have, or a lower than expected recruiting class and there will be a palpable tension among Bama fans.

Grade: B+ – This is an interesting hire to grade. On my made up grade scale and “A” grade is only attainable if I believe a team hired an upgrade at head coach, but how can you upgrade over the GOAT? DeBoer is one of the most impressive coaches in the nation to me, frankly it is scary to think about what he could all accomplish at Alabama. This was a good hire and I believe DeBoer will win a national title within the first 3 years with the Tide.