Kalen DeBoer’s mission is to keep Alabama football ‘front and center.’ Is he the right guy for the job? Jury’s out after bumpy debut, but DeBoer’s track record shows history of a Year 2 takeoff.
Ty Simpson is frontrunner to be Alabama’s starting quarterback. The Crimson Tide need more efficiency, consistency after turnovers played a role in Alabama missing College Football Playoff.
Nick Saban’s retirement sparked a once-in-a-generation transition. Any coaching change takes a toll on a roster. Kalen DeBoer sees improvement at several positions ahead of Year 2.
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Kalen DeBoer perks up.
We’re nearly a half-hour into an interview inside the Alabama coach’s office. He’s politely and harmoniously answered each question, but this topic engages his interest more than any that came before.
What’s a position group where he sees improvement?
DeBoer’s answer spills out without hesitation.
“The defensive backfield as a whole,” DeBoer says, “is the one that’s just completely different than what it was a year ago.
Alabama’s secondary, populated with returning starters, is much more seasoned than the group DeBoer inherited from Nick Saban.
He’s upbeat about Alabama’s receivers, too. Miami transfer Isaiah Horton joined a group that includes veteran Germie Bernard and Ryan Williams, last year’s freshman sensation.
Fair to say Alabama’s receivers are better than last season?
“Accurate,” DeBoer said.
DeBoer expects an offensive line that returned three starters “to take another step” after inconsistencies last season.
A lot of theories could predict improvement in DeBoer’s second season. Alabama endured a once-in-a-generation type of transition following Saban’s retirement. Now, it enjoys more roster and coaching staff continuity. DeBoer’s tasted the SEC. He’s more familiar with his roster, and players are more accustomed to his style. He’s reunited with Ryan Grubb, his longtime right-hand man. Grubb will coordinate Alabama’s offense, just as he did at Washington for DeBoer’s team that finished as the national runner-up two seasons ago.
There’s truth in each narrative, and there’s also this: DeBoer believes Alabama got better at certain key positions, a belief founded in logic.
“There’s a level of confidence that’s exuding from the team,” Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne said, “and there’s a level of confidence that I sense from the coaching staff. I think that’s really healthy.”
Oh, one more thing: DeBoer’s teams improved – sometimes significantly – from Year 1 to Year 2 at each of his previous three coaching stops.
Why shouldn’t that happen here, too?
On that point, we must consider Alabama’s quarterback situation.
Will Ty Simpson be Alabama’s starting quarterback?
Magnificent though Saban’s career was, he didn’t leave Alabama’s cupboard fully stocked at certain positions. Standout safety Caleb Downs and wide receiver Isaiah Bond transferring after Saban retired exacerbated the situation. DeBoer enjoyed more perimeter weapons on offense in his second season at Washington than his first season at Alabama.
But, Saban gifted DeBoer a prized quarterback in returning starter Jalen Milroe, a dual-threat dynamo.
Michael Penix Jr. blossomed playing for DeBoer, so Milroe would do the same, right? Wrong.
Context should be noted. Milroe played for a third offensive coordinator in as many seasons, his top two receivers were program newcomers, and Alabama infrequently established a sufficient run game to support him. The brass tacks, though, are that Milroe regressed with DeBoer and piled up turnovers.
Now, Alabama pivots to a quarterback with no starting experience. Former backup Ty Simpson is the front-runner to start. Grubb said as much in April. DeBoer describes the competition as ongoing.
“We are not where we need to be (at quarterback),” DeBoer said, adding that he seeks consistency and leadership from whomever wins the job.
Simpson threw a total of 50 passes in his first three seasons at Alabama. That’s enough to make him the veteran of a competition that includes five-star freshman Keelon Russell and Austin Mack, a former Washington backup who followed DeBoer to Tuscaloosa. Mack has never played against an FBS opponent.
Simpson “can get the ball where it needs to be,” DeBoer said. That description would apply to some of Saban’s early quarterbacks, and that type of quarterback might suffice again if Alabama’s offensive line, wide receivers and run game improve.
Alabama’s offense looked best last season when Milroe kept the ball. Although Simpson “would surprise you with his quickness,” he wouldn’t threaten Milroe in a footrace.
The key to offensive growth, then, hinges on efficiency and reducing mistakes. Instilling more discipline must be on DeBoer’s checklist, too. Who can forget Malachi Moore’s full-fledged meltdown in the closing seconds of Alabama’s stunning loss to Vanderbilt?
The discipline erosion predated Saban’s retirement. Alabama became one of the nation’s most penalized teams throughout Saban’s final five seasons. The Tide leaned on star quarterbacks and disruptive pass rushers to paper over cracks.
The quarterback play slipped last season. So did the pass rush. The cracks showed.
“Bill Walsh used to say, ‘Champions are champions before they’re champions,’” DeBoer said. “When we talk about being champions, to me, the championships are results of doing things that champions do.”
Champions don’t commit 15 penalties, like Alabama did in a loss at Tennessee.
Alabama totaled 10 turnovers in its four losses. A dissection of why Alabama missed the College Football Playoff for just the third time 11 years must begin there.
“Take the disappointment,” DeBoer said, “but understand we need to respond to that a certain way to make sure we get the outcomes we want.”
Kalen DeBoer expects Alabama to ‘be front and center’
DeBoer’s nine wins exceeded Saban’s first-year Alabama total and the total Kirby Smart posted in his Georgia debut. DeBoer matched Urban Meyer’s Year 1 win total at Florida. Saban, Meyer and Smart are the SEC’s three best coaches in the past 25 years.
That’s not to say DeBoer will reach their realm. Each of the other coaches stepped into different circumstances. It’s only to say it’s premature to panic about DeBoer’s 9-4 debut that ranked as Alabama’s worst offering since Saban’s 7-6 start in Tuscaloosa in 2007.
DeBoer wouldn’t serve you a shoe-leather steak and tell you it’s a tender filet, and he won’t try to spin last season into something it wasn’t, either. Alabama failed to meet expectations.
“This is a program that expects to be front and center,” DeBoer said. “That’s what I expect.”
DeBoer’s debut made it easy to see what you wanted to see.
Believers saw a bumpy start that was not altogether surprising considering a transition of this magnitude and a roster in transition. DeBoer beat rivals Auburn and LSU.
Skeptics saw a coach beset by the job’s scale, a South Dakota-born interloper within a rugged conference he’d never experienced, a coach who lost to Vanderbilt and listliss Oklahoma, whose luck expired after his string of one-possession victories at Washington.
The boring middle ground? DeBoer will fare better reunited with Grubb and with another year of familiarity with this roster and his Southern digs.
Kalen DeBoer retains staunch support from his boss
Coaching Alabama as Saban’s heir means coaching from inside a fishbowl.
Everything DeBoer does becomes subject to scrutiny – and everything means everything.
After Alabama lost to Vanderbilt for the first time since 1984, fans fumed about the result and even critiqued DeBoer’s wardrobe. He wore a T-shirt on game day. Oh, no!
Multiple fans referenced DeBoer’s fashion choice on his radio call-in show, and a local newspaper columnist fanned the flames of the pseudo-controversy.
Welcome to the SEC. Welcome to Alabama, where every play call is critiqued, every quote dissected, and every thread of a coach’s fashion evaluated.
“You know that everything is going to be analyzed – literally everything – but, again, that’s what you signed up for,” DeBoer said, “and I’m good with that.”
DeBoer presents a portrait of composure. If he found himself in a house on fire, I imagine he’d calmly exit the front door, wondering if it was maybe getting just a touch warm inside.
Byrne sensed this while researching potential hires.
“I probably watched any video I could of Kalen DeBoer on YouTube, and there was a steadiness about him that was very apparent,” Byrne said, “but also, at times, he could get fired up about things, too, which I think is healthy. That has carried over to here.”
Byrne’s impressive hiring track record includes Dan Mullen at Mississippi State (a home run), Rich Rodriguez at Arizona (a solid double) and Alabama basketball coach Nate Oats (another home run). It’s still early in the count on DeBoer.
Unrelenting pressure becomes a steady companion to an Alabama coach, but DeBoer enjoys some runway to prove himself and steadfast support from Byrne and Alabama’s administration.
“I’m a huge believer in stability in your coaching staffs,” Byrne said, “and I’m very excited about what’s ahead for Alabama football in the future.”
That qualifies as an unflinching endorsement.
As for an unflinching endorsement from DeBoer, remember Alabama’s defensive backs? He really likes them.
“They have a desire to be elite,” DeBoer said. “I’m excited about that position group.”
Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com. Follow him on X @btoppmeyer.