Kalen DeBoer and playing to the level of the competition

So far in his career as an FBS Power Conference head coach, Kalen DeBoer has been a winner.

After dominating the NAIA level at Sioux Falls and a few stints as an offensive coordinator, DeBoer spent two seasons at Fresno State, amassing a 12-6 record. 

Since leaving Fresno State, he has been a Power Four head coach, first at Washington and now at Alabama. In roughly two and a half years at the highest levels of college football, he has an impressive record of 30-4. 

So far, however, DeBoer’s style of coaching has not delivered the level of dominance that his record suggests. Instead, he has mastered the art of winning close games, and his teams often play to the level of the competition. 

This is an unfamiliar concept and a hard pill to swallow for Alabama fans. Bama fans have grown accustomed to the approach of Coach Nick Saban, who demanded that players play to a standard rather than the opponent. This style resulted in countless dominant wins, with many coming against other good teams, and made Alabama almost impervious to losing to unranked teams.

Conversely, DeBoer’s teams at Washington struggled in many games against what was assumed to be inferior competition. On the flip side, they tended to get up for the big games against opponents like Oregon and Texas. 

Though it’s very early in his tenure at Alabama, that trend has continued to a degree. Alabama looked very mentally prepared to play Wisconsin and Georgia, but it sleepwalked against South Florida, Vanderbilt, and South Carolina.

While this is alarming, the silver lining is that Bama should be ready to go in Knoxville this weekend. 

What are the long-term repercussions of this approach?

Like most Alabama Football fans, I think DeBoer will eventually have to adjust his approach to uphold the program standard, which is winning national championships. It’s great that DeBoer is so good in close games, but this isn’t a promising long term strategy in the SEC. There is too much talent on the other side of the ball in any given week, and opposing teams are always hungry. 

If the Crimson Tide wants to continue to be a perennial national championship contender, the margins are too thin to play one-score games every week. Of course, the expanded playoff gives everyone a little more room for error, but Alabama still must handle business much more convincingly against teams like South Carolina. 

At Washington, Coach DeBoer’s underdog mentality and win-by-any-means-necessary approach was good enough. In the SEC, and at Alabama in particular, it isn’t sustainable. 

As a fan base, we need to have patience with DeBoer and allow him to grow into the job. I have confidence that he will adapt to the championship culture and hold his teams to that standard. Halfway through his first season in Tuscaloosa, however, it’s an area where he needs to improve.