When Kalen DeBoer stepped into Nick Saban’s shoes, he had an idea of being thrown under the bus and getting compared with the GOAT. While that still continues to play an ugly role, what’s uglier now is the injury status. October 19, turned out to be an ominous day for Bama. They already lost to the Tennessee Volunteers 24-17.

Besides the big loss, DeBoer’s safety Keon Sabb has lost his fit status while fighting against the Volunteers. While Tide fans expected things to fall into place, seems like they will have to miss Sabb for some time more. While that might be alarming before the Missouri face-off, DeBoer is yet to give up even after becoming the magnet of intense scrutiny.   

Double trouble for Kalen DeBoer

DeBoer and his boys are already in a sticky spot. When Tide fans were still hoping for Alabama to be back on track after losing the Vandy game, here Alabama further stooped down by losing against the Volunteers. Maybe DeBoer still would have handled the trauma, but now the loss cost him harder after Sabb reportedly broke his foot. Even though it came off as a “lower extremity injury,” the HC’s update doesn’t look quite promising about Sabb’s comeback anytime soon. On October 23, DeBoer appeared for an interview organized by Alfa Insurance where Saban’s successor started with, “He [Keon] is the guy that our unity council requested to have him join after they saw what his makeup was, how hard he worked.”  

DeBoer then confirmed the news that might leave Alabama fandom with broken hearts, “He battled to get himself ready to play…he would be missed in the leadership, so he would be out for a while.” After all, the redshirt sophomore is Crimson Tide’s fourth-leading tackler with 39 stops and tied for the team lead with two interceptions. While DeBoer is quickly learning what life in the SEC is like, walking into week 8 the HC seat just gets hotter for the debut HC.  

No Nick Saban, no glory? Kalen DeBoer faces harsh criticism

The calendar is yet to change to November, but Bama has already witnessed two big losses, the first time since 2007. Losing to No. 25 Vanderbilt Commodores 40-35, topped with their fresh loss against Tennesse, DeBoer lost his power status in the analyst’s eyes as well. For instance, ESPN analyst Tom Luginbill on “The Next Round” dished out a scathing remark, “Alabama is a sloppy, undisciplined football team.”

Poor DeBoer! When Alabama brought in him, they very well knew that he might not be Saban, but still an overall winning coach. While Bama started off dominant in their first few games this season, the vibe got lost after defeating Georgia. However, DeBoer has marked himself safe and protected his squad from feeding on the bad juju.

Knowing very well that winning at the SEC level is a whole different challenge, the Alabama HC is keeping the spirits high. “We knew winning a championship each and every year, especially in the SEC, is gonna be hard,” stated Kalen DeBoer. But how is he dealing with it? “We knew there were going to be challenges, transitions, all of that… We gotta continue to build and that is what this week is about,” assured the HC. Now will the rivals be on high Tide alert? Do share your thoughts.