Sometimes in sports, the best-laid plans for a season go tumbling into a hellacious abyss reserved for only the most loyal fans.

But sometimes … well, sometimes, the best-laid plans for that season click more seamlessly than a coach or manager could ever dream of, and even the most critical fans are left with nothing but praise.

And still other times, you get a mishmash of great and terrible that leaves a fanbase wondering what it just witnessed for several months.

Most of the time, Alabama football fans live the dream. They are spoiled by success, spoiled by excellence, spoiled by the best-laid plans going rather well. It is the crimson-colored gift that seemingly keeps on giving, until it culminates with another championship or an “almost year” where the Tide get close but don’t quite nudge the rock over the finish line.

As the fall of 2023 approaches, Alabama football sits in a weird place. Yes, there is the possibility of it all going pretty wonderfully this season, like all those other seasons. But with Bryce Young and Will Anderson Jr. in the NFL now, with an unproven quarterback taking over and with 2 new coordinators at the helm, there are plenty of things that could go awry.

So — while passionate, paranoid Tide fans wonder about that 3-man quarterback battle while praying it will all somehow work out for the best — we give you 5 dream and 5 disaster scenarios for this curious edition of the Crimson Tide.

The dream scenarios

1. Tommy Rees is a smashing SEC success story

The questions about Rees, a Notre Dame lifer with zero SEC experience, are out there, as they should be. Because this is the SEC, and it’s Alabama, and it’s a transition season at Alabama in the simple sense that a legendary quarterback is gone, replaced by big-time uncertainty. So not only is Rees stepping into the SEC snake pit at the program that demands the most every year, he’s doing it at a most challenging time.

Having said all that, there is talent galore at his disposal, because it’s Alabama. There is a stable of running backs that, on paper, is the envy of any offensive coordinator in the country, with Jase McClellan as the headliner and a couple of highly touted freshmen at the back end of the depth chart. There is a solid if not spectacular receiving corps that will seemingly be 1 year better than it was last season. There’s a transfer tight end with large promise, and 1 of Rees’ specialties is his ability to coach up tight ends (see Michael Mayer). And, if Tyler Buchner happens to beat out Jalen Milroe and Ty Simpson in the fall camp quarterback frenzy, Rees will have his old Notre Dame buddy at the helm of it all. Or he’ll have Milroe or Simpson, both of whom are ready to burst onto the national scene.

The point is, this could all work out wonderfully, even without Young. If it does, in Year 1 no less, the Rees hire will be looked at as 1 of the best (and bravest) of the Nick Saban Era. And if it all works out for Rees, even modestly, then Alabama will be poised to get back to the Playoff after its near-miss last season.

2. The quarterback issue becomes a non-issue

This one, of course, is very closely related to the Rees scenario. Because if the preseason quarterback scramble settles down into a solid situation, then all of the consternation will subside and Alabama will press on with a very dynamic offense, even without the dynamic Young. The Tide were ranked 3rd in the preseason Coaches’ Poll last week, and they were 4th in the preseason AP poll earlier this week. So, the people who believe they know it all seem to think whatever happens at quarterback won’t have too serious an effect on Alabama’s annual chase for a national championship.

If Milroe, Simpson or the Notre Dame import Buchner can take hold of this offense with efficiency and effectiveness, then everything else with the offense — and the defense for that matter — falls into place, and Young can take snaps for the Carolina Panthers this fall without Tide fans yearning for his return every hour on the hour. And if the QB issue does indeed become a nothing-to-see-here thing, then the rest of the SEC will once again be on notice (maybe even Georgia).

3. The running backs make the QBs a non-issue

Just like the Rees and quarterback scenarios are tied at the hip, so are the quarterback and running back scenarios. Alabama’s stacked running backs room (on paper) — led by McClellan, Roydell Williams and Jam Miller — is poised to be the centerpiece of the Tide offense after a few years of the quarterback (Young) being The Guy. If this Bama group of backs is collectively as dominant as many think it will be, then what happens at quarterback doesn’t mean nearly as much. It’ll still matter, of course, because it’s the quarterback position. But a steady if not spectacular presence at quarterback would go just fine with dazzling running backs who control the clock, the tempo and the mood on the sideline and in the stands.

You’ve seen teams in the past, in the NFL and college, who are fine if not dazzling at quarterback while their running backs do the heavy lifting (look up the 1990 New York Giants). That could be the formula for the 2023 Alabama Crimson Tide. The stars are aligned for it to go like that, for the running backs to carry the Tide to Atlanta and beyond. And this “dream scenario” would take so much pressure off Young’s successor, who is sure to have an adjustment period, whether it’s a few weeks or half the season. If McClellan stays on the Maxwell Award watch list long enough and even gets some Heisman whispers, then Williams, Miller, Justice Haynes and Richard Young will fall in line behind him, and whoever is taking the snaps will be the beneficiary. So will an apprehensive fan base.

4. Dallas Turner softens the blow of Anderson’s departure

Bama fans should love Turner’s preseason bravado. He has already proclaimed that he’s the best defensive player in the SEC, without a snap being taken in his junior season and before life truly begins without the legendary Anderson at his side. Turner’s got guts, and that’s a good place to start. But if the linebacker from Fort Lauderdale can really become the best defensive player in the SEC this fall, then the loss of Anderson (he plays for the Houston Texans now) won’t be nearly as stinging.

And if Turner can replace Anderson’s leadership and production, then Bama will have its “new Will Anderson Jr.,” and all (or most everything) will be fine with the Alabama defense in 2023. If Turner can turn back into the quarterback hunter he was as a freshman, when he rang up 8.5 sacks, then a defensive backfield that’s more settled at cornerback than safety will be a little more secure. If all this happens, then by November, no logical Tide fan will be left wishing Anderson could magically reappear at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Turner will be leading Bama back to the top of the SEC West.

5. Freshman Caleb Downs plugs the hole at free safety

While Haynes gets all the freshman hype on the offense, Downs has been dazzling observers on defense during fall camp. One of those impressed observers is his own teammate, sophomore cornerback Terrion Arnold, who said of the 5-star safety from Hoschton, Ga.: “Practice, about Day 3, we were in Cover 2. They threw a 50-50 ball; made a crazy play. Made a great play. Guy’s a playmaker.”

If Arnold’s very early rave reviews are a sign of what’s to come, then Downs just might be Bama’s next superstar safety, and that’ll greatly ease the transition at that position after the departures of standouts Brian Branch, Jordan Battle and DeMarcco Hellams. Losing that rock-solid trio, all at the same time, is a tough proposition. But if Downs is the real deal like many think, then the free safety position will be on lockdown this fall and for however long Downs chooses to stay in Tuscaloosa before turning pro.

The disaster scenarios

1. The SEC eats Rees alive in Year 1

OK, now it’s time to go to Negative Town. There are, of course, possibilities for disaster. And naturally at the top of the list is Rees not adjusting well to the SEC, and it all falling apart because of the inconsistencies at quarterback (see below for more on that). Sure, Rees is a brilliant offensive mind, or else he wouldn’t have been the OC at Notre Dame, he wouldn’t have helped Mayer become 1 of the best ever at ND and Saban wouldn’t have considered him to run his offense.

We get all that. But sometimes it just doesn’t all come together, especially the 1st season after a drastic move and especially with a quarterback situation that has the potential to get dicey if things don’t break right. The winner of the 3-man quarterback scramble this month will likely have a huge effect on what Tide fans get from Rees. Yeah, the running back position appears loaded. But you can’t hand it off every down, and what if Javion Cohen’s transfer to Miami rocks the boat along the offensive line enough to throw everything out of whack? Had enough of the negativity yet? It’s just reality, or a possible reality, and if it actually becomes reality then get back to me on that Playoff berth.

2. The instability at QB weighs down the offense

If Rees kind of gets it handed to him this fall, then it is almost a certainty that the uncertainty at quarterback is what ruins the whole thing. Rees has been reunited with Buchner, and on the surface, that would seem to be great. Except that Buchner never quite got it right in South Bend, or else he would still be in South Bend. And now there are lightning-fast SEC defenses that would be waiting to take Buchner apart if he happens to beat out Milroe and Simpson for the starting job.

But what if Milroe wins the job? Well, he did as well as could be expected last fall when Young got injured, helping will the Tide to victory at Arkansas and doing just enough to keep Bama unbeaten until Young returned. But Milroe also left the stage with many questions to be answered about his ability to win with his arm and not just his legs, and what if that minor issue is still an issue this fall? Or what if Simpson, with all of his 5 career passing attempts at the collegiate level entering this season, wins the job but is slowed by his general lack of experience? All of these wonderful (we’re being sarcastic) possibilities at quarterback could somewhat offset all of the proven talent at running back and make the Tide offense entirely predictable. And that would likely make for another 2-loss regular season in T-Town.

3. Transfer CJ Dippre doesn’t fill the void at tight end

With a new quarterback (whoever it is) directing traffic under a new offensive coordinator, having a dependable tight end this fall will be paramount. That dependable, if oft-injured, tight end was in Tuscaloosa the past few seasons with Cameron Latu, but like Young and Anderson and many others, Latu is gone to the NFL. Latu was often Young’s security blanket, even if he wasn’t always available last season. Now, in steps Dippre, the transfer-portal prize from Maryland, to take his place as the starting tight end.

Problem solved? Not necessarily. Yes, the junior’s production last fall in College Park — 30 catches for 314 yards and 3 touchdowns — would seem to be pretty equal to what Latu gave the Tide over the past few seasons, when he caught 26 passes in 2021 and 30 last season. But Latu also hauled in 12 TD passes during those 2 seasons, a credit to his chemistry with Young. What if Dippre and whoever don’t strike that immediate bond? What if, like Rees on the sideline, Dippre has a hard time adjusting to the speed of the SEC? Saban praised Dippre’s maturity, experience, size, hands, pass-catching ability and blocking ability, and that was after the 1st preseason practice.

But what if success at a pedestrian program like Maryland doesn’t quite translate to the same success at an elite program like Alabama, with a new quarterback and OC to get used to? And are you tired of the negativity yet?

4. Will Reichard endures a stunning year-long slump

OK, maybe we’re going a little too far here. But when it comes to kickers, even rock-solid ones like Reichard who has flirted with the Lou Groza Award for a few years, you truly never know. Kickers, even the best of them, are like closers in baseball, which is to say even elite closers go through short stretches (or long ones) when they blow a slew of saves. And kickers, even all-time great collegiate ones like Reichard, go through slumps when they’re not so automatic. Reichard went through a short slump last season, Saban quickly came to his defense, and Reichard straightened things out the rest of the way.

Reichard’s mini-slump in 2022, which included a missed field goal (OK, it was a 50-yarder) that opened the door for Tennessee’s last-second win, came during a season when the Tide weren’t adjusting to a new quarterback and OC. If a similar mini-slump occurs this fall, or god forbid a longer one, then the effects could be much more drastic, considering the likelihood that Bama will be playing a few more close games (and low-scoring games) than last season. For as great as Reichard has been all these years, he’s been kicking a flood of extra points for offenses led by Young and Mac Jones that have piled up the touchdowns. That might not be so in 2023, and so a Reichard slump could very well cost the Tide a trip back to the Playoff.

5. Georgia is just too darned good

We saved the best 1 (or the worst 1) for last. You had to know it was coming. What if Georgia, the rival from the neighboring state with the back-to-back national championships to shove in the Tide’s face, is still too good in ’23 despite losing Stetson Bennett IV, Jalen Carter and many others to the NFL? What if all the Bama-hater naysayers are exactly right, that the Saban Dynasty is finally nearing the cliff and that Saban disciple Kirby Smart has indeed turned Georgia into the New Alabama?

For Bama fans, this is the disaster scenario to end all disaster scenarios, because for the past 15 years it has been smooth sailing, a seemingly endless ride full of big wins, colorful confetti and championship celebrations. The realization that a generation of Tide fans used to nothing but the ultimate success might have to readjust its entire way of thinking about Alabama football is a very scary one.

Now, there are levels of disaster here in 2023. If Alabama gets back to the Playoff but falls short and Georgia wins it all again, then you can tip your hat (again) to the Bulldogs but still know that the Tide are close to regaining the mountaintop.

But if the Dawgs 3-peat and Bama misses the Playoff for the 2nd straight season for the 1st time, well, that’s the nightmare nobody in T-Town wants to be experiencing in early January — especially a fan base that is so darned used to living the dream.