Not all Alabama football fans agree with Greg Byrne's decision to extend Kalen DeBoer's contract. The $87.3M extension included a buyout clause of 90% should Alabama choose to move on from DeBoer before the 2032 season.
When Greg Byrne announced the extension, he called DeBoer an "excellent" coach. He recently explained how much he and the Alabama program value head coach continuity. Byrne's decision makes sense despite the huge buyout. DeBoer and Alabama must battle hot-seat rumors while building annual rosters. The extension reduces the negative impact of the rumors.
When DeBoer left Washington for Alabama, he was a hot coaching commodity. He was considered a very good coach on the cusp of becoming a great one. Fast forward to Year 3 in Tuscaloosa, and Byrne's 'excellent' label might be a stretch. Do excellent coaches get dominated by opponents as Georgia did in the SEC Championship Game and Indiana did in the Playoff to the Crimson Tide last season?
Perhaps a more honest assessment is that Kalen DeBoer is a 'good' coach with much to prove. 'Good' is not good enough in Tuscaloosa. Because of the contract extension, DeBoer can survive another lackluster season in 2026. And lackluster is a kind description for any Alabama Football four-loss season.
Recently, Tom Forenlli and CBS Sports ranked all the Power Four head coaches. Kalen DeBoer was ranked No. 8. The only SEC coaches ranked higher were Kirby Smart at No. 1 and Steve Sarkisian at No. 6. In the top 20 were SEC coaches Lane Kiffin (No. 9), Mike Elko (No. 14), and Josh Heupel (No. 19). At the least, DeBoer must prevail over two of them in the 2026 regular season.
Alabama Crimson Tide - Must Always Be Competitive
What Alabama football fans will never accept is the Crimson Tide not being competitive against any team. Georgia's defense dominated Alabama in Atlanta. The Hoosiers dominated Alabama in every way in the Rose Bowl.
Kalen DeBoer is 2-1 against Kirby Smart. Improving the record to 3-1 on Oct. 10 would be huge for DeBoer and Alabama. At the least, Alabama's brutal four-game run of Georgia, at Tennessee, Texas A&M, and at LSU must include two wins and zero bad losses. That is what a 'good' coach would achieve. An 'excellent' one would do even better. Alabama football fans are anxious to learn which label best fits Kalen DeBoer.
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