A list of hot-seat coaches is a dependable hook to land the attention of college football fans. When an Alabama football coach makes a list, interest exponentially expands. Numerous current, hot seat lists include Kalen DeBoer. ESPN has one that cleverly breaks down Power Four hot seat coaches into six categories. Kalen DeBoer is listed in ESPN's "We want this to work" category. It is their second, most hot designation. ESPN has only two coaches categorized in hotter situations than Kalen DeBoer.
ESPN Senior Writer Adam Wittenberg wrote the hot seat piece with help from others at ESPN, including Paul Finebaum. Reading it requires a subscription. Finebaum does not make my 'always ignore' list, but he has co-workers who do, along with others outside the ESPN sphere. 'Sizzle' is fine, coupled with a requisite amount of substance. Some national platform reporters appear to believe negative stories about Alabama Football need little or no substance.
An exception is Michael Casagrande of al.com. He has written a hot seat column worth a read. What Casagrande provides that others bypass is context. An obvious example is that the expectations for Alabama Football are unique. The uniqueness is the result of the unparalleled success of Nick Saban, and the championship legacy of Paul 'Bear' Bryant and the Crimson Tide's other national championship coaches. For Alabama fans, every Alabama season without a championship is a failure. By Alabama's unrealistic standards, not making a 12-team Playoff field is a disaster.
Measuring the success or failure of Kalen DeBoer's first season in Tuscaloosa is difficult. Some balance must be found between two outstanding wins and three inexcusable losses. Casagrande calls the Georgia and LSU wins "apex moments that proved fleeting in the end." Casagrande explains just how fleeting, "Those glories, however, won’t live in the memory reel of those looking back on the autumn that was in Tuscaloosa."
More bluntly, the upset of Georgia and the beatdown in Baton Rouge don't matter in an Alabama Football context of expectations. The dismal performances against Oklahoma and Michigan erased them. Under Kalen DeBoer, Alabama lost four games and did not deserve to be considered a Playoff contender. Two of the four losses resulted from woeful performances by the Alabama Crimson Tide offense.
Alabama Football Offensive Slippage
Alabama's slippage offensively predates Kalen DeBoer. The 2020 Alabama National Championship team was No. 2 nationally at 7.81 yards per play. In Saban's last season, Alabama was tied for 35th at 6.21 yards. In 2021 and 2022, Byrce Young's magic kept the Tide's offense going. Last season, the Alabama offense was No. 26 against Power Four teams, at 6.06 yards per play. In the 'apex moments' the Crimson Tide offense produced over eight yards per play against Georgia and 6.4 yards against LSU. Against Oklahoma and Michigan, per-play production barely exceeded four yards.
It took time for Kane Wommack to develop his Alabama Football defense. His progress was sufficient to expect the Crimson Tide to be even better on defense in 2025. Alabama fans are not as confident about Kalen DeBoer's offense improving enough. DeBoer is justifiably respected for his offensive acumen. In the 2025 season, he must prove he can deliver in the SEC. If he can't, however hot his seat is in Tuscaloosa; it could become a blaze that suddenly ends the Alabama Football DeBoer era.
Note: Alabama Football stats provided by cfbstats.com and Sports Reference