Two competing assessments of the Alabama Football failure against Oklahoma are both true. The game was an unacceptable performance on many levels. The offense was so deeply flawed, that pathetic is an apt description. The defense was not as bad, but not near good enough.
Alabama football fans are still reeling and casting widely for blame. The dissatisfaction may be so deep that even a blowout of the Auburn Tigers would not dissipate it.
Many fans may not hold another competing assessment, but it warrants consideration. It is that Alabama cannot afford to overreact and dismantle too much of what Kalen DeBoer is building. Maybe Kalen DeBoer is the problem, as a minority of Crimson Tide fans claim; but that cannot be known this soon in his tenure. Maybe one or both of the Coordinators are not good enough, but only DeBoer can make that call. What the program does not need is a too-quick staff upheaval.
Most of Alabama's meltdown on Saturday night was on offense. Jalen Milroe had an awful game, and several offensive teammates combined for too many mistakes. Should Milroe be benched for Ty Simpson? Only the coaches know the answer. Fans can only know that the Alabama Football offensive staff has shown no indication of a belief that Ty Simpson provides a better chance of winning than Jalen Milroe.
Much of the ire coming from Alabama fans is directed at Nick Sheridan. A few claim the Tide's inability to consistently produce offensively is because DeBoer's Washington Offensive Coordinator, Ryan Grubb opted for a move to the NFL after initially joining the new Alabama staff.
Often repeated is incorrect information that before Saban hired Tommy Rees, Grubb turned down the Alabama OC position. Alabama insiders refute that claim. What happened is what Saban wanted in his offense was not what Grubb wanted to run. After an interview, Grubb was not offered the job.
Whether the DeBoer/Sheridan coaching combination will be as successful as the DeBoer/Grubb combination remains to be seen. So far, DeBoer appears to believe Sheridan is the OC he and Alabama need. Unless or until that changes, Alabama fans might consider that coaching changes impact roster transitions, and building the Tide's offensive roster could be harmed by a change at OC.
The concerns of Alabama Football fans are legitimate
The legitimate concerns of Alabama fans will not go away with a solid wins in the Iron Bowl and a non-Playoff bowl game. It is possible the Crimson Tide could play poorly enough against Auburn that patience must be discarded. That should not happen and hopefully it won't. A 10-3 Kalen DeBoer led Crimson Tide can rebound in 2025. Roster building will be rocky again, but it should provide DeBoer with a team more capable of playing his offensive system. Even 9-4, as long as the fourth loss is in the bowl game, would lead to more doubt, but not so much that DeBoer's job would be in jeopardy.
Alabama football fans cannot be expected to grin through this grim interval; we will just have to bear it and believe better days lie ahead.