Kalen DeBoer should be feeling the pressure. Year three for him leading Alabama could make or break his tenure. While he did lead the Crimson Tide to the playoffs last year, Alabama is judged on winning championships. This is what he signed up for by replacing Nick Saban in Tuscaloosa. DeBoer is a strong head coach, but has he successfully received the baton from Saban? Josh Pate has concerns.
Pate put Alabama "on the clock" as one of five college programs with a ton to prove to him this year.
"Alabama is on the clock," Pate said. "I think this is totally fair. They feel kind of like they are emerging from the Nick Saban shadow. By that, I mean, this is the year where you'll turn them on; now and moving forward, you'll turn Alabama on, and there's very, very little remnant of Nick Saban. You got a player or two here and there. You've got a staffer or two here and there. But by and large, Nick Saban is now history."
Pate continued by saying that being yet another season removed from Saban is Alabama's reality.
"But nothing about the team that takes the field this fall will reflect anything other than Kalen DeBoer. So that's not a bad thing or a good thing. It's just a thing. It's just a reality."
This is not necessarily the worst thing in the world, but Alabama does need to redefine itself under its third-year head coach. Pate wonders how well Alabama will respond after getting its teeth kicked in vs. Indiana in the Rose Bowl. He wonders if the running game, or any semblance of physicality, will return to the gridiron for the Crimson Tide. Pate did speak highly of Alabama's execution a year ago.
Pate also put Clemson, USC, Texas, and Notre Dame on blast during a recent segment from his show.
While so much has been made about the lack of a running game, Pate did offer a potential solution.
Josh Pate identifies how Kalen DeBoer can take the pressure off his team
What Pate pointed out to finish his thoughts on Alabama is spot-on. If the Crimson Tide want to achieve all they can this fall, it starts by taking care of business in the early part of their season. Alabama will not play a ranked team until it hosts Georgia on Oct. 10. Between now and then, it will be a lot of East Carolina, Kentucky, Florida State, South Carolina, and Mississippi State to try to navigate.
This is where coaching matters. If DeBoer and his staff can hold up their end of the bargain, Alabama could be playing with so much confidence into the heart of their schedule. The middle third features menacing dates with Georgia, at Tennessee, home vs. Texas A&M, and then at LSU after the bye. As long as Alabama does not drop a game vs. a lesser team, it can split these four and make the playoffs.
On paper, Alabama should have one of the best secondaries in the country. The Crimson Tide have plenty of skill-position players who can make a difference. As far as the Alabama quarterback room is concerned, it may not have a starter just yet, but it is a talented group and a deep one. Unfortunately, the ground game still has issues, and the offensive line needs to come together in a hurry for DeBoer.
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Ultimately, the pressure Pate and other national pundits are putting on Alabama is merited. Alabama is held to a different standard than most teams in the sport. Are DeBoer and his staff living up to it? Well, they need to do everything in their power to make sure that their style of playing winning football can effectively translate into the gauntlet that is the SEC. In time, we will get our fair answer.
For now, Alabama should be more than incentivized to go out and prove their many doubters wrong.
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