The air in Tuscaloosa feels different these days, doesn’t it? Accustomed to championship parades and hype trailers, Bama fans squinted through 2024, searching for the old magic that just wasn’t there. Kalen DeBoer’s first year at the helm wasn’t a disaster by any stretch—a 9-4 record is a strong showing for most programs—but this is Alabama, where a four-loss season is the most since 2007. The new man in charge had huge shoes to fill, taking over from the legendary Nick Saban. DeBoer’s already feeling the heat—these new expectations are proof.

On paper, there’s hope for brighter days. Kalen DeBoer inherited a talented roster and bolstered it with the fourth-best recruiting class in the country, according to 247Sports’ composite rankings. Five-star recruits like QB Keelon Russell, OL Michael Carroll, and CB Dijon Lee provide a glimpse into the future. But as much as recruiting wins dominate headlines, it’s clear that Alabama’s aura has lost some of its shine, says That SEC Podcast host Mike.

For the first time in what feels like forever, the Crimson Tide are entering a season without being viewed as the juggernaut of CFB. Bama as an underdog? That’s a foreign concept in Tuscaloosa, and it speaks volumes about how much has changed in the wake of Saban’s departure.

The signs of this shift aren’t just coming from rival fanbases eager to revel in Alabama’s decline. The witness of the fallen empire pointed out, “How many of these top 25 lists have Alabama at No. 1 or No. 2? I haven’t seen one of them.” Under Saban, the Tide were a lock for preseason top-two rankings, often penciled into the playoffs before a single snap was played. Matter of fact, “most of these lists started under Nick Saban.” Now, they’re viewed as an elite program in transition—still dangerous but no longer the undisputed alpha of CFB. “Expectations are diminished outside,” Mike added, and while that might sting for fans, it could work to DeBoer’s advantage.

Alabama’s offseason, mercifully, has been quieter than the chaos of 2023, when whispers of internal friction between Saban loyalists and the incoming DeBoer regime threatened to derail the program. “Getting DeBoer’s systems all going in the right direction… with a little less of, well, we’re Saban guys, well, we’re DeBoer guys,” Mike said, hinting at the growing pains that inevitably come with leadership change.

Now, with those tensions seemingly resolved, the focus can return to the field, where the Tide still has enough talent to make noise in the SEC. And speaking of talent, wide receiver Ryan Williams, recruited by the GOAT himself, might be the brightest spot on the roster. As Mike put it, “Who the heck would not want that guy on their team?”

The point is “getting that all that cohesion on the same page” and taking all the talents, like Williams and Russell, together. Also, if he can step into the quarterback void left by Jalen Milroe and provide the consistency the Tide lacked last year, the pieces are in place for a turnaround. Still, as Alabama fans know, talent alone isn’t enough. Execution and cohesion will be critical, and that’s where DeBoer will earn—or lose—his hefty paycheck.

Alabama finds itself in uncharted waters. The Tide are no longer the team everyone fears. While that might be a bitter pill for fans to swallow, it also provides an opportunity to embrace the underdog mentality—a role the 18x national champions haven’t played in decades.

Kalen DeBoer gets his first-year grades at Alabama University

Back to college for the Tide football head coach. Greg McElroy turned professor, grading college football’s new head coaches on his latest Always College Football podcast. Among his evaluations, he gave DeBoer a “B-” for his 2024 campaign—a season McElroy described as a “roller coaster.” While that might seem harsh for someone inheriting a program as storied as Alabama, McElroy had his reasons.

“I think they were remarkably inconsistent from start to finish,” McElroy explained, via On3. “Almost on a week-to-week basis, you’d watch them and think, ‘Wow, that’s the way it’s supposed to look.’ And then the next week, you’d be like, ‘What in the world was that?’” The inconsistency, McElroy said, made it tough to fully wrap his head around Kalen DeBoer’s first year at the helm.

That may seem like a poor grade for a straight-A student like the Crimson Tide. But let’s not forget the context. McElroy pointed out that DeBoer inherited a program reeling from the retirement of Nick Saban and a “mass exodus” of talent via the transfer portal. Big-time players like Caleb Downs and Isaiah Bond left, making the rebuilding job even tougher. Still, McElroy praised DeBoer for squeezing out nine wins under challenging circumstances.

“Getting nine wins, I think, is something to be commended,” he said. Well, NINE wins sounds good! But can DeBoer manage to give Tuscaloosa anything close to what they’re used to next year?