As Alabama gears up for its College Football Playoff semifinal showdown against No. 1 Indiana in the Rose Bowl on January 1, there’s more on the horizon than just the chase for a national title. The Crimson Tide are staring down a critical stretch - not only on the field, but off it - with the transfer portal set to open the very next day.
It’s a tightrope walk for head coach Kalen DeBoer and his staff. On one side, there’s the business of preparing for the biggest game of the season.
On the other, there’s the reality of roster management in the modern era of college football. The portal window opens January 2 and runs through January 16.
If Alabama advances past Indiana and reaches the national championship game, players will be granted an additional transfer window after the season concludes - but that doesn’t mean the hard conversations can wait.
DeBoer addressed the balancing act earlier this week, acknowledging the challenge of navigating portal decisions while still in the thick of a title run.
“I think there’s conversations the coaches will continue to have,” DeBoer said. “Our antennas are up.
And I think the one thing I appreciate about our whole team - coaches and players - is that there are strong relationships. We can have honest, upfront conversations.”
That kind of open dialogue is critical in this era, especially for a program with championship aspirations and a roster full of talent that other schools would love to poach. DeBoer emphasized that the team’s focus is still squarely on the task at hand - playing in and winning the Rose Bowl - but he’s not ignoring the reality of what’s coming.
“There’s a care that these guys have for each other,” he said. “First and foremost, we want to take advantage of what we’ve done all season. This is why you did all the work - to be able to play in this game.”
But the portal waits for no one. For players considering a move, timing is everything.
The earlier they enter, the more options they’ll likely have, as roster spots across the country begin to fill quickly. Wait too long, and they risk being left without a landing spot for the 2026 season.
That’s the tension Alabama is navigating right now. Players want to finish what they started, but they also have to think about their futures. DeBoer made it clear that the coaching staff is doing everything it can to help players think through their situations before the portal opens.
“There’s a reality of that time coming,” DeBoer said. “We’re just talking through the what-ifs, the different scenarios.
Every guy’s situation is different. If there’s anything that might happen - I don’t want to call it a red flag - but anything you think might be coming, let’s talk about it.”
That proactive approach has paid off for Alabama in the past. DeBoer pointed to the program’s ability to retain much of its roster over the last couple of years as evidence of the trust and transparency that exists between the players and staff.
“I think that’s how we’ve retained a lot of our roster - at different times, at different levels - over the last year and a half, two years,” he said. “And that’s what I hope we continue to do with our coaching staff and the relationships we’ve built, as well as the way our players care about the program and finishing this season strong.”
The Rose Bowl kicks off at 3 p.m. CT on January 1 and will be broadcast on ESPN. Alabama will take the field with its eyes on a national championship - and with one eye on the calendar, as the ever-evolving world of college football waits just around the corner.