Seven college football coaches with more pressure to win than Kalen DeBoer
By Ronald Evans
A common take is succeeding Nick Saban puts Kalen DeBoer in the highest pressure situation, in college football. Following the GOAT is a huge task. Expectations have not and will not change in Tuscaloosa. As always the Alabama Crimson Tide will be expected to win a National Championship.
The flip side is that even for a new Alabama football coach, there is a honeymoon period. Or maybe a grace period better describes the situation. It is a transition year for Alabama Football. As such, DeBoer has some margin for error. Alabama fans would likely accept not winning a National Championship in DeBoer's first season. Not making the expanded Playoff field would be a far different matter, but it would not cost DeBoer his job.
Other coaches will not fare as well should their teams miss out on the first 12-team CFB Playoff field. Not included in the 'others' are Kirby Smart and Steve Sarkisian. Should the Bulldogs or the Longhorns come up short in 2024, their fans will grieve and some pressure will build on Kirby and Sark for the 2025 season. But neither job would be in jeopardy.
Seven college football Coaches with the most 2024 pressure
The base standard of success in college football has become making the 12-team Playoff. Would the axe fall on every coach listed below, should their team fail to make the Playoff? Most would survive with ramped-up vulnerability, but not all.