On a recent episode of The Triple Option podcast, Alabama legend Mark Ingram had a lighthearted, yet meaningful exchange with Crimson Tide head coach Kalen DeBoer - and it all started with a little playoff controversy.
Before Alabama’s playoff fate was sealed, Ingram had publicly questioned whether his alma mater deserved a spot in the College Football Playoff following their SEC Championship loss to Georgia. On December 6, he said outright that Bama should be “out.”
Fast forward a couple of weeks, and the Tide are not only in, but preparing for a Rose Bowl showdown with No. 1 Indiana.
So when Ingram invited DeBoer to join the podcast, the coach jokingly had one condition:
“Maybe apologize for questioning whether we should be in the playoff?” DeBoer said with a laugh.
Ingram, never one to shy away from owning his words, responded with a mix of humor and passion.
“Listen, I was throwing the rat poison out there,” he said, referencing Nick Saban’s famous phrase for outside noise and doubt.
“Clearly y’all heard me. We went out to Norman and we did the job.
And we’re going to do the job again in a few weeks. I go harder for Bama than anybody in the nation.
I go harder for you than anybody in the nation.”
DeBoer, who’s quickly built trust within the Alabama program, didn’t hesitate:
“I know,” he said. “I know.”
Ingram kept it real, acknowledging the emotional rollercoaster that comes with being both a diehard fan and a former player with a national title and Heisman Trophy to his name.
“Do I feel like we left our destiny in the committee’s hands?
Yes I did,” he admitted. “But at the end of the day, I root for Bama.
I want Bama in the playoff. I want Bama to win the natty.
I want Bama to ball every single time we on the field. So I do apologize.
I am the ultimate king Gump. They crowned me king Gump because I go harder for Bama than anybody else.”
That blend of honesty and loyalty is exactly what makes Ingram such a unique voice in college football media. After a standout NFL career and now a role on FOX Sports’ Big Noon Kickoff, he’s still very much tied to Tuscaloosa - and DeBoer knows it.
“Here’s the thing, you come back all the time,” DeBoer told him. “You help us.
I know where the loyalty’s at. I know where the love’s at.
You’re saying how it was. We didn’t play very good in that game.
It was all real and it comes with the territory.”
That kind of mutual respect between a coach and a former player isn’t just good TV - it’s a reflection of the culture Alabama continues to build, even in a transitional year. DeBoer, in his first season at the helm, has navigated the pressure cooker of expectations while keeping the Tide in the hunt for another national title.
Now, it’s all eyes on Pasadena. No.
9 Alabama will take on No. 1 Indiana in the Rose Bowl on Thursday, Jan. 1 at 3 p.m.
CT on ESPN. The stakes couldn’t be higher: a trip to the Peach Bowl and a shot at the national championship await the winner.
From the outside, it might’ve looked like Alabama’s playoff hopes were done after the SEC title game. But inside the program - and clearly, even among its most passionate alumni - belief never wavered for long.