Kalen DeBoer knows that in his first two seasons in Tuscaloosa, he hasn't exactly measured up to Alabama's championship expectations since first taking over as head coach for college football Hall of Famer and legend Nick Saban. Despite that, fast-forwarding to January 2026, DeBoer feels he knows precisely the next steps of where the Crimson Tide program has to go from year two to year three in order to start meeting those expectations this fall.
Hearing this self-assessment from the mouth of a South Dakota native might fall on deaf ears to the everyday Alabama fan, due to the Tide's most recent College Football Playoff exit after being plastered by Indiana, which went on to win the national championship earlier this month. Even though this may be partially true, DeBoer still remains confident in the steps Alabama has taken.
DeBoer let this be known to reporters in Montgomery, Thursday night when he was asked about his progress as leader of the program over the last two years.
"We took some steps", DeBoer said. "I definitely believe that. And so, I think from within, just what you're trying to build, and the belief and confidence that you need to have. I think there's a lot from year one to year two, as far as what I saw. You know you're trying to continue to install a culture, you're trying to install a scheme. I think we were better in the critical moments, at the end of games."
To DeBoer's credit, Alabama did show improvement from 2024 to 2025 in how the Tide were able to pull out close games opposed to his first season, where they were just 2-3 in that department. These results improved as Alabama pulled off a record of 4–1 in one-score games (decided by 8 points or fewer), which was a key part of getting them into the College Football Playoff quarterfinals, coming back from a 17-point deficit against Oklahoma in Norman on the road.
The third-year head coach continued his sentiments by acknowledging the fact that yes, he and Alabama as a program have fallen below the program's standards of being consistent perennial contenders and reaching that national championship mountain Crimson Tide fans once were familiar with under Saban, going a remarkable 16 consecutive years with 10+ win seasons or more en route to hoisting 6 National Championships.
Kalen DeBoer admits Alabama has 'fallen short' of expectations
"Obviously, we've fallen short of what our expectations are," DeBoer admitted. "But I think the habits we create every day, the ones that we consider are championship habits. It doesn't mean that you are going to win a championship, but you install those habits, and I think we did a lot to make strides in those areas."
After hearing those sentiments, for what it's worth, two of Alabama’s most productive players and former team captains, Tim Keenan and Ty Simpson, also backed their former head coach of two seasons this past weekend when asked by reporters, as they prepare to embark on their professional careers in the NFL
"Coach DeBoer has been nothing but the greatest coach ever as far as getting players going, connecting with his players, and then allowing his players to be his best players," Keenan said earlier this week at the Reese Senior Bowl. "So coach DeBoer, I don’t have a bad thing to say about him. He was all locked in the day he took the job. Yeah, he was under a lot of fire and all that stuff, but I promise you, he’s gonna come out of it way stronger, and a lot of people are going to eat the words that they had to say about him.”
His quarterback also doubled down on DeBoer by saying, "Don’t be a fan later,” Simpson told AL.com this week. “Everybody likes to criticize him now. Don’t be a fan later. That dude is the exact person for the job. There’s no doubt in my mind. You saw what he did in Year Two. Imagine what he’s going to do in Years 3 and 4. That dude is a great leader of men. He’s a great coach. He’s a great motivator. There’s no other coach I would play for, besides my dad, than coach DeBoer."
In my opinion, after hearing from arguably the heart and lungs of the team this past season, in both Keenan and Simpson, no true Alabama fan with common sense feels any differently. I say this because, despite those who may feel differently, DeBoer hasn't run or shied away from any challenges since taking over what most consider to be one of the hardest jobs in all of sports at any level or division.
Instead, he's learned from his own shortcomings and has been self-sufficient in how he approaches this high-pressure position. This has been shown in the way DeBoer made improvements after Alabama was the bud of all jokes when the Crimson Tide missed the postseason, resulting in a 9-4 record in 2024, then his improvement to lead Alabama to two additional wins in 2025. On top of that, he's proved doubters wrong who said he wouldn't be able to recruit in the SEC, by reeling in back-to-back nationally ranked top 5 classes in 2025 and 2026.
With that being said, this is why I chose to believe in DeBoer's vision as he aims to get Alabama back to the top of the mountain en route to bringing a national championship back to Tuscaloosa in the coming seasons. But maybe that's just me. The question now for all Alabama fans is, do you believe as well?