Alabama roared back in historic fashion at Oklahoma, which should squash this ridiculous Kalen DeBoer-to-Michigan speculation
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Down 17 points, things got real in a hurry. Kalen DeBoer‘s future faced a pivotal juncture.
Let’s back up a second. What got real was that Alabama‘s season was staring at a disastrous ending after it fell to a 3-score deficit in a 1st-Round Playoff game at Oklahoma, AKA one of the most hostile atmospheres in the sport. Alabama defensive coordinator Kane Wommack might’ve claimed that the Tide had been in “win or go home” mode since the Florida State game, but let’s not get it twisted. Much to the chagrin of many, Alabama got into the Playoff as an at-large team after losing 2 regular season games and suffering a blowout loss in the SEC Championship.
Was this about to be another blowout? And would this be a moment that defined DeBoer’s future in Tuscaloosa?
Well, it did in fact turn out to be a double-digit margin of victory, and as many speculated in the days leading up to the first-round Playoff game at Oklahoma, Friday night did feel like a pivotal moment for DeBoer’s future in Alabama.
Again, though. Don’t get it twisted. An epic Tide comeback — it matched 2017 Georgia’s comeback vs. Oklahoma in the Rose Bowl as the largest in Playoff history — in Norman for a 34-24 victory should all but squash the ridiculous notion that DeBoer could possibly leave Alabama for Michigan.
Yes, there’s validity in multiple outlets reporting that Michigan is pursuing DeBoer to take over its post-Sherrone Moore mess. So far, though, there’s no such validity that DeBoer would opt out of being Nick Saban‘s successor less than 2 years after he signed up for the role. Is an extension in the works? Possibly. Is super agent Jimmy Sexton’s hands all over this? Quite possibly.
But Friday night was all about DeBoer
Like, the guy who improved to 4-0 vs. AP Top 10 teams in true road games. No active coach in the Playoff era has more such victories.
And oh, by the way, all he and Alabama did was become the first team to win a road Playoff game. DeBoer did that while leading the Tide to its first victory in a Playoff game since the 2021 semifinal vs. Cincinnati.
Not too shabby. DeBoer, despite the lows during these first 2 seasons, is always capable of going out and winning a big game … even when his team is facing a 17-0 deficit on the road against a Brent Venables defense before it even gets a first down. Eventually, that came. More importantly, it came in the form of a 29-yard catch from true freshman standout Lotzeir Brooks, who then one-upped that grab by making a trio of Oklahoma defenders miss on a 4th-and-5 conversion for Alabama’s first score of the night.
Consider that one of several game-changing plays that tilted the scales in Alabama’s favor. There was the Zabien Brown pick-6 to tie the game before the half, there was the over-the-top Germie Bernard catch to help Alabama make it a 2-score game in the middle of the 4th quarter, there was the dropped punt attempt by an atypically awful Oklahoma special teams unit that also watched Lou Groza Award winner Tate Sandell miss multiple kicks, etc.
You could argue that John Mateer’s decision to throw downfield instead of pick up a 3rd-and-3 with his legs was pivotal, though if that ball was caught instead of dropped, it’s likely a 24-7 ballgame late in the first half. Either way, it was a break that worked in Alabama’s favor during that furious comeback.
Pick whatever pivotal moment, and ask yourself this. Do you honestly think that would’ve swayed DeBoer’s future in Tuscaloosa? If the answer is “yes,” and you really do want to pretend that Michigan is hiring a coach under normal circumstances, remember something else. DeBoer never been fired from a coaching job. In his previous 2 stops as an FBS head coach, he got better jobs at the end of Year 2. At the end of Year 2 at Alabama, the jury is still out on whether DeBoer will end up leading the Tide to a championship. Call me crazy, but it would make sense if all parties wanted to see where they stood instead of hearing about hot-seat rumors entering Year 3.
Something tells me that this all ends with either a raise or an extension. Friday night’s result didn’t change that.
What Friday night’s result changed was potentially how a talented Alabama team approaches a daunting, but not impossible matchup against Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza and No. 1 seed Indiana in the Rose Bowl. Was Brooks’ brilliance or that pick-6 the timely exhale that the Tide needed to round into form and storm through the rest of the field? We don’t know that yet. All we know is that Alabama could be playing with house money against an Indiana team that’s in the midst of a historic season, but is also just trying to win a bowl game for the first time since 1991.
A New Year’s Day matchup in the quarterfinals means that Friday was the last time that Alabama played a game in 2025. It should also be the last time that actual DeBoer-to-Michigan speculation is discussed.
If it’s not, somebody has it twisted.
Connor O'Gara is the senior national columnist for Saturday Down South. He's a member of the Football Writers Association of America. After spending his entire life living in B1G country, he moved to the South in 2015.
