Kalen DeBoer may live to regret comments he made earlier this week at SEC Media Days, though only in Tuscaloosa could these be regrettable comments.
The Alabama Crimson Tide head coach was asked if he believed his time at Alabama would ultimatly be defined by whether or not he wins a national championship.
Keep in mind, his predecessor, Nick Saban, won six for the Tide, and he won another at LSU.
“I certainly know that’s an important part of what’s happened in the program, so I wouldn’t doubt if that’s the case,” DeBoer said, according to Daniel Hager of On3. “I’m not focused on that. I’m focused on just helping our program be the best and trying to bring out best and raise the level of everyone around me, from coaching staff to our players; trying to maximize what we’re capable every single day.”
DeBoer went on to say that he always wants Alabama to have championship expectations and that the Tide understand that, internally, they fell short of those expectations last season.
There was a caveat, though.
“We felt like we righted a wrong a little bit last year compared to the year before with some of the things we accomplished, DeBoer said.
As opposed to year one of the DeBoer era, the Tide actually made the College Football Playoff last season. They even won a game by beating the Oklahoma Sooners in the first round in Norman.
They were blown out in the Rose Bowl by the ultimate champion, the Indiana Hoosiers, though. The lasting impression of 2025 for Alabama was not the CFP berth, but rather getting blown out 28-7 in the SEC Championship game by Georgia and then losing, 38-3, to Curt Cignetti and the Hoosiers.
That’s why some around the program are apparently not all that happy that DeBoer said he’s not focused on championships.
This is, according to Paul Finebaum.
“He doesn’t think words matter at Media Days, but they do matter, for this reason,” Finebaum explained on ESPN’s “First Take” on Thursday morning.
Kalen DeBoer says he’s “not focused” on championships at Alabama
The long-time SEC analyst said that he had spoken with a prominent former player at Alabama who feels that DeBoer won’t be able to be successful with the Tide because of that mindset of not focusing on championships.
“I’ll tell you what he said. This isn’t my opinion. I’m a pundit. This guy played at Alabama and knows the pulse of Alabama. He said, ‘What Kalen DeBoer said yesterday is the reason why he will not succeed, nor will he ever win a National Championship.’ You have to have the DNA to do it. I know how fans think, I know how former players think, and I know what the money people think. They did not like what he said yesterday,” Finebaum said, referencing DeBoer’s comments.
