Kalen DeBoer inherited one of the toughest jobs in college football, and David Pollack thinks the circumstances around his first year at Alabama made the assignment even harder.
Taking over after Nick Saban’s retirement following the 2023 season, DeBoer stepped into a program that has lived at the top of the sport for decades. Alabama’s standard is brutal, and the bar was set by Bear Bryant and Saban long before DeBoer arrived in Tuscaloosa. He came in after guiding Washington to back-to-back double-digit-win seasons and a trip to the national championship game, but his first Alabama roster was anything but settled.
The turnover was massive. Alabama brought in 14 players through the transfer portal and lost 64 to it, including safety Caleb Downs and quarterback Julian Sayin, both of whom ended up at Ohio State.
That kind of roster churn helped fuel a shaky start, and the Crimson Tide finished 9-4 without reaching the College Football Playoff. Along the way, they dropped three games to teams that finished with five or more losses, including two opponents that went 6-6 in the regular season.
Pollack pointed to that upheaval when discussing DeBoer on “See Ball Get Ball with David Pollack.”
"Yes, that's my thing, just, first of all, 20-8 after Saban left and the mass exodus that followed him," Pollack said. "Guys were leaving left and right, man.
He wasn't dealt a fair hand. Kalen DeBoer, I'll say it again, he's a great coach.
He's been a great coach his whole life."
DeBoer answered with a stronger 2025 season, going 11-4 and getting Alabama back to the SEC Championship Game. The Tide lost that one 28-7 to Georgia, even after beating the Bulldogs in the regular season.
Alabama then opened the College Football Playoff with a 34-24 win over Oklahoma before Indiana shut the door with a 38-3 quarterfinal rout.
The Tide have started to look more like themselves under DeBoer, but that doesn’t buy much patience in Tuscaloosa. A conference title game appearance and a playoff win matter, yet the mission never changes there: championships.
If DeBoer keeps stacking progress, he’ll have a real chance to show he’s the coach built for Alabama’s next chapter.
In Other News...
Aden Holloway Just Cleared Another Step Toward Alabama Return
Aden Holloway has taken another step toward putting his Alabama future back on track after reaching a plea agreement tied to the felony charges stemming from a marijuana possession arrest. The deal allows him into a second chance program with probation and community service, and it comes after his ban from campus was lifted in early April.
Holloway has already returned to practice with the Crimson Tide this summer, but his path back is not fully complete yet. He still has requirements to satisfy from the court, the university and the basketball program before he can fully settle back into the roster, even as he plans to reenroll at Alabama this fall. [Read more 🡒]
Terrance Green Is Already Carrying Big Alabama Expectations
Terrance Green has not played a snap for Alabama yet, but the expectations are already building around the former Oregon defensive lineman. After three seasons with the Ducks, Green is set to debut for Kalen DeBoers defense, and The Athletics preseason All-SEC second team nod shows how quickly he has become a name to watch in the league.
For Alabama, the appeal is obvious: Green is being counted on to help anchor a defensive line that wants immediate production from a newcomer. The recognition adds another layer to a move that already carried plenty of intrigue, and it leaves the Crimson Tide with a familiar offseason question - how fast can a transfer turn projection into impact? [Read more 🡒]
Greg Sankey Just Sent Alabama A Serious Playoff Warning
Greg Sankey used SEC Media Days to put a sharper edge on the playoff debate, and Alabama is right in the middle of the uncertainty that follows. The SEC commissioner pushed back on the idea of a 24-team College Football Playoff, saying the calendar is already difficult to manage and that access matters, but not at the expense of making the whole system harder to stage. He also pointed to the leagues massive crowds, noting SEC programs averaged more than 80,000 fans per game last season, a reminder of how much the conference believes it brings to the sport.
More importantly for Alabama, Sankey made clear the SEC is not speaking with one voice on the issue. Some coaches in the league have embraced expansion, while others have resisted it, and Sankey said his own conversation with College Football Playoff staff left him unsatisfied about how well they understand SEC scheduling and strength. With talk of the SEC potentially breaking away from the current structure now out in the open, the playoff debate has moved well beyond theory, and it could shape the path Alabama has to navigate in the seasons ahead. [Read more 🡒]