Kalen DeBoer knows exactly what comes with the job at Alabama. The championship expectations aren’t subtle, and they weren’t hidden when he took the podium at the 2026 SEC Football Kickoff in Tampa.
Now entering his third season leading the Crimson Tide, DeBoer was asked the question that hangs over every Alabama coach in the post-Nick Saban era: will his tenure be judged by whether he wins a national title?
“I certainly know that it's an important part of what's happened in the program, so wouldn't doubt that that's the case,” DeBoer said. “I'm not focused on that.”
That answer fit the tone he’s kept around the program. Alabama’s last national championship came in 2020, and the standard in Tuscaloosa still traces back to Saban’s run, when he delivered six national championships in 17 seasons. DeBoer inherited that weight, and he’s not pretending it isn’t there.
In his second year, Alabama finished two wins shy of the national title game, then was blown out 38-3 by Indiana. That loss was DeBoer’s eighth at the helm, and it came after the Crimson Tide missed the playoff in his first season.
Still, DeBoer said he’s not measuring the job by one final result. His focus, he explained, is on the daily work of pushing the program forward.
“helping our program be the best and trying to bring out the best and raise the level of everyone around me, from coaching staff to our players, trying to maximize what we are capable of every day,” he said.
Earlier in the day, DeBoer also talked about what it means to follow a coach like Saban and keep a powerhouse moving. He called it a difficult task, but one he embraces.
“One year, you know, winning a championship is hard. What's so impressive with what Coach Saban did for so many years is doing it again because you know everyone's coming after you and everyone's going to bring their best when they face you on the football field,” DeBoer said. “That's what I understand took place and happened here during the great times of Coach Saban, obviously, leading the charge here.”
“But also, I love the challenge of trying to continue to build on that, continue to add to this program's great, great history.”
DeBoer also pointed to his previous stop at Washington, where he spent two seasons and guided the Huskies to the national title game with Michael Penix Jr. at quarterback before Michigan won 34-13.
Alabama opens the 2026 season at Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 5 at 11 a.m. CT against East Carolina.
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The numbers told the story, with the Tide averaging just 3.25 yards per rush and landing near the bottom of both the SEC and the national rushing charts. Alabama is hoping the answer comes from two directions at once, with current backs taking another step forward and incoming offensive line help giving the run game a better foundation, but the real test will be whether those pieces turn emphasis into production. [Read more 🡒]