Among Alabama Crimson Tide fans, the 2026 season is viewed with a mixture of optimism and doubt. There are clear reasons for both opinions. Even with a Playoff win over Oklahoma, the way Alabama limped through two of its last three contests was seriously troubling.
Kalen DeBoer recently outlined what Alabama needs to do to reach national championship contention. His answer was more physical play. Specifically, DeBoer said, " I really do believe you don’t win championships without a physical nature to your program, and that happens through what you do in practice. That’s what we want to become. I know what that looks like, we’ve done it at multiple places."
Lack of physicality was glaring last season in one stat. In third-and-short situations, the Crimson Tide was No. 12 among SEC teams, averaging 2.87 rushing yards. Alabama football fans don't need stats to remember how often the Alabama offensive line has been stuffed on short-yardage runs. The problem did not start with Kalen Deboer. To some extent, the weakness goes back to Nick Saban's last two seasons, in 2022 and 2023.
In the 2025 season, the problem of insufficient offensive line push and too-often leaky pass protection resulted in the Crimson Tide converting just 37.78% of third downs against Power Five winning teams. Nationally, that stat ranked the Crimson Tide No. 57. That is far short of championship quality.
In the offseason, Kalen Deboer made the no-brainer move of discarding offensive line coach Chris Kapilovic. Kapilovic's unit did not open enough holes for Alabama running backs and allowed 32 sacks.
Alabama Football Offensive Line Rebuild
DeBoer brought in Adrian Klemm to rebuild the Tide's offensive line. Klemm has an impressive resume. DeBoer tried and failed to hire him before. Alabama fans welcomed the change, but the excitement diminished a bit when it became known that Klemm was given a one-year deal at $600K. Four other Alabama assistants will earn less than Klemm, so the compensation is not a problem. The one-year term is disconcerting. Does it contradict DeBoer's stated confidence in Klemm? Or did Klemm want an easy out if the Tide has another disappointing season?
One thing is certain. If the Alabama offensive line makes marked improvement under Klemm, Alabama will ante up to keep him.
Note: Alabama football stats provided by cfbstats.com
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