Note: Week 9 of the college football season is here. Make your picks for Joe vs. the Pro and the Hero using this link or with the embedded form at the bottom of the column. Each week, winners of the 6-0 Challenge will be celebrated in Joe’s weekly newsletter, “SPORTS! Happy Hour.”
This is an opinion column.
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On the brighter side of things, Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer looked a lot cleaner last Saturday against Tennessee. His short-sleeved quarter zip was a bold fashion statement, but he pulled it off.
So to speak, of course.
It was DeBoer’s faulty game prep that left Alabama stripped bare at Neyland Stadium.
Alabama’s 15 penalties during its 24-17 loss to Tennessee was an embarrassment to the Third Saturday in October. DeBoer now faces a must-win scenario against No.21 Missouri on homecoming.
Can the season be saved?
We’re going to learn a lot more about DeBoer on Saturday, but something on Thursday revealed another part of his character. DeBoer only answered one question from fans during his weekly call-in show, “Hey, Coach.” It made him look weak in a moment when Alabama’s coach needed to project confidence and accountability.
If DeBoer isn’t going to take calls, then they should change the name of the show to “Who Cares, Coach?”
Maybe it wasn’t DeBoer’s decision to give Alabama fans the cold shoulder. Sometimes coaches like DeBoer have decisions made by handlers. Sometimes there are technical difficulties in live radio. Whatever the case, it was a bad look. And if it was a public-relations specialist who had that bright idea, then they need to be doing push-ups this morning as punishment.
It might seem trivial to some, but there’s a large segment of Alabama’s fans who are now disenchanted with DeBoer over the radio-show blunder. Former coach Nick Saban enjoyed taking calls from fans, and it was great radio.
If I’m being completely honest, Saban oftentimes gave better answers to fans than he did to reporters on the beat.
College football in the SEC is special because the fans make it special. DeBoer would be wise to remember that from now on.
It was never going to be easy for DeBoer, but he’s making this transition more awkward than it needed to be.
There’s talk of Alabama still being a contender for the playoffs, but this team has been backsliding ever since halftime against Georgia. I’m still convinced that DeBoer can be a good coach at Alabama, but he wasn’t prepared for the grind of the Southeastern Conference. In the SEC, it’s a battle every week. That’s why things like meticulous attention to details are so important.
And former Alabama player Damien Harris is 100 percent correct. What was Josh Chapman thinking when he walked into Neyland Stadium with a cigar in his mouth? Chapman is one of Saban’s former players who is now a staffer for DeBoer. He probably thought he was sending a message, but it wasn’t the one he intended.
We’re nine weeks into the season, and Alabama looks like an unserious football team that only plays one on TV. The reality of the game is that Alabama’s days as a superpower might be over.
The talent gap is shrinking in college football due to NIL. Alabama lost to Vanderbilt for the first time since New Coke and the Commodores are ranked No.25 with the same overall record as the Crimson Tide. Both teams are 5-2, but Alabama currently trails Vandy in the SEC standings.
The good thing about people with talent is they have the ability to evolve.
Saban needed a year at LSU and Alabama before he started winning consistently. DeBoer has earned the benefit of the doubt based on his record at Washington, but coaching at Alabama is more than strategy on game day and recruiting. It’s not about DeBoer being man enough to do the job. He seems like a well-grounded person with plenty of confidence.
But is DeBoer the right man for this insane job?
Maybe it takes a cult of personality like the ones crafted by Saban and Paul Bryant to survive at Alabama. For DeBoer’s sake, hopefully that’s not the case.
But if he wants his every-man approach to win over fans, then maybe DeBoer should think twice before shutting them out.
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Joseph Goodman is the lead sports columnist for the Alabama Media Group, and author of the book “We Want Bama: A Season of Hope and the Making of Nick Saban’s Ultimate Team.”
