Greg Byrne's fate and legacy as Alabama's Athletic Director was always going to be tied to who he hired to replace Nick Saban. Byrne knew that. So did the powers-that-be at Alabama when he was hired away from Arizona in 2017. He was one of the top Athletic Directors in college sports - and he would be the guy tasked with replacing the legendary Tide football coach.
Byrne struck gold when he hired Nate Oats as the basketball coach in 2019. Oats has brought an unparalleled amount of success to the hardwood, leading the program to the Final Four for the first time in 2024 and making it to the Elite Eight two years in a row - something the program had only done once in history prior to his arrival.
The goodwill produced from hiring Oats has already run out for Byrne. Because the only hire that truly mattered for him was the hire to replace Saban. And the early returns have been poor, if not quite the complete disaster that some say.
Through 14 games of the post-Saban era, Alabama has gone just 9-5. Kalen DeBoer has now lost to as many unranked teams through one season and one game as Saban did in 17 seasons at the helm. The standard is no more in Tuscaloosa - it's been ripped up and flushed down the toilet by a coaching staff that looks increasingly out of its depth at this school and in this conference.
Hiring DeBoer was always risky. He led Washington to the National Championship Game in 2023, but had only coached 46 games at the FBS level when he arrived in Tuscaloosa, and only 28 at the P4 level. Four total seasons of FBS coaching - regardless of where those seasons came from - is not the level of experience that should earn you the head coaching job at a place like Alabama.
Unfortunately for Alabama fans, the road ahead will be a long one. Byrne has tied the Alabama ship - and his legacy - to DeBoer. For better or worse. And it's looking worse by the week.
Alabama doesn't have the money to fire Kalen DeBoer any time soon
It's easy to be emotional and scream from the rooftops that you want DeBoer fired. I get it. I assure you, the thought ran through my head during yesterday's pitiful performance. But a rational look at the landscape of things will quickly tell you that getting rid of DeBoer isn't that easy.
In order to poach a "top" coach, like Byrne believed he was doing when he pulled DeBoer away from Washington, he had to give him a contract and buyout in line with the best coaches in the game. For DeBoer, that meant an 8-year, $87 million contract with a buyout of 90% of the remaining money owed if he is terminated without cause.
By my crude math - and just assuming his yearly salary is just an average annual value of the contract (it's not) - this is what Alabama would (roughly) owe year-by-year if they chose to let DeBoer go:
2025: $58.7 million
2026: $48.9 million
2027: $39.1 million
2028: $29.4 million
Those numbers tell me DeBoer is getting at least four seasons at Alabama unless the team completely bottoms out. The athletic department can't afford the first two numbers. Probably can't afford the third.
This isn't Texas A&M with Jimbo Fisher - Alabama doesn't have a multitude of big-money donors who would be willing to throw that kind of money around to pay the buyout. What money Alabama does get from its richer donors is being funnelled directly into NIL to remain competitive with roster building.
If Alabama diverted that money toward paying a buyout, it would have a majorly adverse effect on the talent the Tide can accumulate.
That's why - barring a 2000 Mike DuBose level bottoming out - DeBoer will be Alabama's coach in 2026. And probably 2027, too. It's just the reality of this era of college football. Until keeping him becomes more costly than the buyout, DeBoer will be roaming the sidelines.
Alabama's best hope could be that DeBoer succumbs to the pressure of the job and decides to seek employment elsewhere, like Ray Perkins and Bill Curry did.