Sports Talk

As the Tennessee night began to take hold in Knoxville the city was treated to something which had become increasingly spare over the past two decades: a win against bitter rival Alabama. While fans draped in all manner of orange and white swarm a field engulphed with the tradition-dictated cigar smoke, a signal is felt across the southeastern United States and the nation as a whole, for the first time in seventeen years Alabama is vulnerable.

For a fanbase which had come to expect nothing less than perfection during the Saban era, a rumbling has begun to emerge quietly, but growing each week as coach Deboer has failed to live up to the haughty expectations of the fanbase in every aspect of his being from his more casual dress, to his easy-going demeanor, and most certainly due to the underachievement of his team on the field. Through all of these qualms with Deboer one word tends to find its way into every voiced thought: Undisciplined. It has become a point of emphasis and a hard point to argue against, especially on the back of a performance in which Alabama suffered from key mental mistake after key mental mistake highlighted most of all by a late fourth quarter shove by wide receiver Kendrick Law pushing the tide to a 4^th and 22 situation deep in their own territory towards the end of the game. While this officiating crew was anticipated to be quick to throw a flag 15 penalties for 115 yards is an unacceptable statistic regardless of the situation, especially when considering the Tide rank in the bottom 20 FBS teams in penalties committed this season. A lack of discipline is certainly the most un-Saban-esque quality of this team and with growing pressure from fans and constant pressure from boosters, what is Alabama to do at the coaching position?

               The truest and most simple answer is often the most unappealing, but in this situation, I believe it is apt: as a fan or a booster there is nothing to do, you need to give this Deboer and this team time to find itself and its footing. It’s an unpleasant feeling to know that the talent on this team may not reach its full potential this year, especially staring down two ranked opponents and the possibility of being 5-4 in the middle of November. It’s important to note that this transition was never going to be a seamless one, and Kalen Deboer is not Nick Saban, however, to the rest of the world in 2007 Nick Saban, wasn’t the arguable greatest college coach of all time either. Saban inherited a much less talented team than Deboer and managed to lead them to a 7-6 record before turning the team around and jumping to a 12-2 record in 2008. We have to leave the past of Alabama in the past, however, and there is a large contingent of fans who would argue against an analysis of those two seasons because of the very true reality that this team is much better than that 2007 team off the back of an SEC championship and college football playoff appearance in 2023. Although it is unfair to say that this team is the same as the 2023 team either with many notable departures there is a litany of first time players starting on this team, a fact most evident in the back end of the defense where it seems the departure of All-American Caleb Downs is sorely missed as missed assignments and mental mistakes have resulted in wide open receivers downfield against every opponent this season. Luckily for the tide, these mistakes have been relatively covered by the inconsistent quarterback play in college football, but these players are young, and they need time to grow and develop in defensive coordinator Kane Wommack’s system. To that extent, save the players who transferred from Washington this team has no system veterans on either side of the ball, something which can help to create a confidence and stability in scheme execution which has been sorely missed on this team.

If we are to look into Deboer’s past the best place to start is with his most recent stint as the head coach of the Washington Huskies. When Coach Deboer took over the program they were coming off of a dismal 4-8 2021 campaign and despite the influx of key transfers, such as NFL first round draft pick Michael Penix, 6 weeks into his Huskies tenure Deboer and the team sat at 4-2 with one ranked win over #11 Michigan State and two back-to-back unranked in-conference losses. Despite this hardship, that team went on to win every game on their schedule and finished ranked the #8 team in the nation. Now this Alabama team has much more talent than that Huskies roster, however in response to the camp of fans who seem keen to point this out, I return that both rosters are comparable in relation to the strength of their schedules and respective conferences.

With a 12-team playoff if this team is still potentially in the running for a national championship, and given Deboer’s history and the evident talent on this roster there is no reason to assume he would be unable to recreate the success he’s had in years prior. Though, before we firmly place the cart before the horse there are plenty of problems for coach Deboer and his staff to address. Both the offense and defense have shown inconsistencies. Against Tennessee Wommack’s defense put on a valiant effort in the first half before showing holes in the second where they allowed 24 points, but did supply an important stop in their own end late in the fourth quarter to give their offense one final chance to win the game. Offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan’s issues seemed more apparent against Tennessee with a relatively uninspired mixture of run and pass plays in which the Tide opened the second half with a red-hot rushing game making an anomalous appearance before disappearing as surprisingly as it came. Furthermore, team captain and quarterback Jalen Milroe seemed rattled by the noise and pressure of Neyland stadium forcing pass after pass to freshman sensation Ryan Williams to the tune of 8 receptions on 20 targets. Fixing these holes is Deboer’s main priority and to the camp who is ready to turn the heat on his seat all the way up, there is one final thing which I have yet to mention. The Athletic department understands that a transitionary period is not going to always look the prettiest and to halt even themselves from pulling that trigger on the coaching position they set Deboer up with a firing deterrent to the tune of a $70 Million buyout which would put a hole in most every donor’s pocket. So as Alabama prepares to take on a ranked Mizzou team at home before the daunting task of a potential night game at Death Valley against LSU, I invite Alabama fans to sit back take a deep breath and have some hope that Coach Deboer, a proven winner, will be able to figure it out once again. Regardless of how you feel about Coach Deboer or the Crimson Tide, as a fan we all feel a certain pull to watch, because of one thing there’s no doubt, there’s fireworks ahead.