After the first Alabama football practice session of Fall Camp, Crimson Tide coach Kalen DeBoer met with beat reporters. He was not the same Kalen DeBoer as last season. In media sessions during last season, DeBoer never came across as fully at ease. The tremendous pressure of following Nick Saban appeared to weigh heavily on DeBoer. So heavily that when making public comments, a base level of tension was often evident.
On Wednesday, that core level of apprehension about not saying the right things had disappeared. DeBoer appeared not just confident, but relaxed. The main reason for the change is probably that the equalizer of time has provided a settling into his Alabama role. Another reason could be that DeBoer has a roster with talent and depth that would make any experienced coach confident.
This reading between the lines might be a foreshadowing or a fantasy. For now, it is enough to see DeBoer seemingly more at ease. Much positive information was provided by DeBoer on Wednesday, particularly about players returning from injury. He also quietly expressed solid confidence in the young men who can truly be called Kalen DeBoer's first Alabama football team.
Alabama Football Coaches and Pressure
None of the above is to say that Kalen DeBoer is not under intense pressure. Four losses in a season is never an acceptable record at Alabama. Failing to make an expanded CFB Playoff field is given a pass for only a season. Every Alabama head coach since the Bryant era has coached with pressure every season. The best of them, Bryant and Saban, were so driven that their internal standards of performance exceeded all external pressure. Kalen DeBoer may or may not have similar internal fire. The 2025 season will be telling. Reaching two losses by October would ramp up so much pressure that any human would be vulnerable to it.
Check out everything DeBoer said on Wednesday, in the video provided by WVUA 23.