Look, I know.
It's Stephen A. Smith. Similar to Paul Finebaum, you have to take everything he says with a grain of salt. He's paid to be argumentative and say things that are outlandish because it generates eyes and ears.
I try to be better than that and to avoid getting roped into his - or Finebaum's - nonsense. But he got me here.
Sue me.
Finebaum and Jordan Rodgers joined First Take with Smith while they are covering SEC Media Days in Tampa this week. In a segment discussing which coach between Alabama's Kalen DeBoer and LSU's Lane Kiffin had more pressure on them in 2026, Smith took the opportunity to go on a rant about DeBoer as the Crimson Tide's head man:
"He's lost four games each season," Smith said. "They were lucky to get to the postseason. This man is supposed to be about offense - they scored three points. Paul Finebaum [is] talking about Indiana handed them their lunch money. They beat them like they stole something. They waved the white flag.
"You've got Alabama fans talking about buying the man out. Give him the money just to go away. Call him Jimbo Fisher, call him, you know, (Brian) Kelly. Do something. Get rid of him because he ain't the guy."
Stephen A. Smith believes Alabama should move on from Kalen DeBoer
Smith has not exactly been shy about his disdain for DeBoer's tenure at Alabama. He was a very vocal supporter of the Crimson Tide during the Nick Saban years, at least when it suited him.
Luckily for DeBoer, and for Alabama fans, neither Smith nor Finebaum is calling the shots in Tuscaloosa. It's all just noise.
But it's noise that will continue to get louder until DeBoer can prove he's the man to fill Saban's enormous shoes.
Nobody is expecting him to win at the same level Saban did. That's impossible. That 17-year run will never be replicated. But not even DeBoer's staunchest defenders can say with absolute certainty that he's the guy to carry this program forward. Not yet, at least.
The amount of losses isn't necessarily concerning, particularly when you understand that two of them last season came in the postseason against elite teams in Georgia and Indiana. It's how - and who - the losses have come that have been frustrating.
Alabama was non-competitive against Georgia and Indiana. That can't happen.
They never should have lost to Florida State in the opener. In 2024, they never should have lost to Oklahoma and Vanderbilt, either.
There's no changing the past, though. It is what it is. Saban had some mystifying losses early in his tenure, too. So, too, did Gene Stallings, who is a better comp for DeBoer than Saban because nobody could possibly live up to the standard Saban set.
Year three must show progress. It doesn't have to be a title-winning season, but it needs to set the stage for a title team in the near future. He's not on the hot seat right now thanks to the contract extension Greg Byrne handed him this offseason.
But the uncomfortable conversations will continue in the media and among the fanbase until he forces them to stop.
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