Kalen DeBoer says ‘fine line’ separates Alabama from title contention
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Kalen DeBoer is 20-8 in 2 seasons at Alabama. He has lost 2 more games than he did in the same amount of time at Fresno State. He has lost 5 more games than he did in the same amount of time at Washington. And he has as many losses in his first 2 seasons as the Crimson Tide head coach as Nick Saban, his predecessor, had in the 5 years prior to DeBoer’s arrival.
Still, in the aftermath of a season-ending demolition at the hands of Indiana in the Rose Bowl, Kalen DeBoer insisted that Alabama was close to its goals.
“I know because I’ve been doing this long enough and I have experiences that I can fall back on that there’s a fine line between what we had out there today and being at the very top,” DeBoer said. “It is such a fine line.”
DeBoer has lost 4 games in each of his first 2 seasons. The last time Alabama lost 4 games in consecutive seasons, Brett Favre was still quarterbacking the Green Bay Packers.
This is unfamiliar territory for the Alabama football program. And it’s uncomfortable for the fanbase, which has been out in full force since the loss.
Indiana dominated the Tide, 38-3. The Hoosiers’ ground game outgained Alabama’s entire offense, which struggled once again due to its inability to move the ball on the ground.
Is it fair to compare DeBoer to Saban’s standard? Some would argue no. Others would suggest DeBoer knew exactly what he was signing up for by taking this job and replacing the man he replaced, and that no excuses can be made for falling short of the standard Saban set.
When DeBoer left Washington, he was coming off a College Football Playoff runner-up finish. He has certainly taken a step back since then. If the line is fine, it might be because the Tide are so far from it.
But DeBoer expressed optimism about the direction.
“You gotta go back to starting over from scratch with putting the people around you — the right people — and committing to something, a common goal together and the actions following it,” he said. “It’s such a fine line. It may not feel like it when you’re in this moment right now, but I can tell you its a fine line between being here and being at the top. We’ve got to do the work.”
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
