The Alabama Crimson Tide are no strangers to success in college football after winning six national titles during Hall of Fame head coach Nick Saban’s 17-year tenure in Tuscaloosa.
That is what has made Kalen DeBoer’s first two seasons at the helm after taking over for Saban so disappointing for a fan base that expects much more.
While DeBoer is a combined 20-8 at Alabama, the Crimson Tide reached a new low under him with a 38-3 thrashing by eventual national champion Indiana in the College Football Playoff quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl.
As a new season approaches, Saban appeared on Wednesday’s edition of ESPN’s “SportsCenter” and was asked what he needs to see from DeBoer in his third season to become a national championship contender. He did not hesitate with his answer.
Nick Saban gives his thoughts on Alabama’s outlook for 2026
“I think that defensively, they’re probably a contending team,” Saban said. “… I think the big challenge for Kalen this year is going to be, ‘Can I fix all the issues we have on offense?’ We just talked about the quarterbacks and making a selection at that position, but the O-Line, which was a problem last year in terms of being able to run the ball and protect the quarterback, needs fixing, as well as what kind of skill guys do we have besides Ryan Coleman-Williams who can make plays and make big plays for us?”
Alabama’s defense only gave up the 22nd-most points per game (20.6 PPG) last season, so it certainly did its part to keep the Crimson Tide in most games.
From a run game that ranked 129th (out of 136 FBS teams) in rush yards per game (92.6 YPG) to the 28 sacks that quarterback Ty Simpson took under center, the offense was a major focal point entering the offseason.
In addition to losing Simpson to the Los Angeles Rams, offensive lineman Kadyn Proctor is now with the Miami Dolphins, and leading receiver Germie Bernard was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the second round.
With a QB battle that is still undecided between senior Austin Mack and sophomore Keelon Russell, the concerns are hard to ignore on offense.
“There’s a lot of question marks there,” Saban continued. “I think they have a lot of capable players. I think it’s going to be interesting to see how this team develops because you have a lot of new players on the roster, but I do think they have a chance to be a good team and I think Kalen has done a really good job of developing this program over the last two years to be able to make another run this year.”
The uncertainty at QB, along with the lack of upgrades in the backfield, has made this Alabama team fly under the radar unlike years past at SEC Media Days with more unknowns than typical Crimson Tide teams.
Sure, Alabama strung together four consecutive ranked wins last season, but three of its four losses were by at least two touchdowns, and it needed a 17-point rally to defeat Oklahoma in the CFP first round.
As the SEC embarks on a nine-game conference schedule in 2026, the difficulty will only increase for the recently extended DeBoer if he wants to lead Alabama back to the championship game as he did in his final season at Washington.
Some improvements on offense will go a long way, but if it is much of the same in 2026, DeBoer could be in trouble.
