Alabama fans finally starting to give Kalen DeBoer some breathing room after Week 3

He may have signed a massive eight-year deal that carries a $60+ million buyout, but from the perspective of many Alabama fans, Kalen DeBoer entered Year 2 on the hot seat after winning just nine games in Year 1. Then, DeBoer’s team went out and laid a total egg in the season opener at Florida State. 

The calls for DeBoer to lose his job intensified with his fourth loss to an unranked opponent across his first 14 games in Tuscaloosa, but just two weeks later, it seems he’s starting to get a bit of breathing room heading into the bye. DeBoer brought a different energy to Alabama’s Week 2 and 3 wins over Louisiana Monroe and Wisconsin, and the fanbase took notice. 

His attitude wasn’t the only thing that changed. DeBoer’s wardrobe has been a hot topic of conversation around Tuscaloosa. In Week 1, DeBoer went with the red Alabama polo, but for the subsequent two games at home, even in the Alabama heat, he broke out his black hoodie, which has become a favorite of the Crimson Tide faithful. According to the fanbase, DeBoer is now 10-1 when wearing his black hoodie. 

Kalen DeBoer is learning that winning fixes everything in the SEC

Something as simple as his fashion choices seems to have the fanbase buying back in, because ultimately, winning cures everything, and that’s what Alabama has done for two weeks, righting the ship heading into the bye week. 

Alabama never let off the gas against ULM, leading to a cathartic 73-0 win in the home opener to get to 1-1. Then, quarterback Ty Simpson looked excellent again in Week 3 against Wisconsin, carving up the Badgers’ defense and feeding sophomore wide receiver Ryan Williams in his return from injury. 

The Tide didn’t quite pull away from Wisconsin in the second half, which leads to lingering concerns about the state of the run game without starting running back Jam Miller. However, DeBoer wasn’t complacent with his team’s winning effort and showed the fire on the sidelines that fans have been begging for since Nick Saban retired. 

That passion carried over into the postgame press conference with DeBoer’s simple message to his team as the Tide have two weeks to prepare for the SEC opener in Athens on September 27.