If we ask the fans, we are sure they will agree that Kalen DeBoer‘s hiring as the Alabama head coach was the most polarizing event in Alabama football history. You are taking over the reins from none other than Nick Saban—the man who not only replicated Bear Bryant‘s legendary era but somehow made it better. With so many eyes on you, the conversation instantly shifts from you being “competitively proficient” and having “wins at an insanely high level” to “Damn, we missed Nick.” Literally, no one cares about what you did at Fresno or how good you made the Huskies—the only thing fans will focus on is, can Kalen DeBoer continue the legacy?

And well, after the 2024 conquest and the subsequent failures of the “oh-so great” offensive line, it truly makes you wonder: Is the Nick Saban era of Tide football gone? Or is DeBoer pushing for the start of a whole new era? “There’s gonna be close games. We won a couple, but we didn’t win enough of them, especially the 5-, 6- and 7-point losses that we had… We’ve just gotta be better in the situational things that help us win more close games than what we did this last year.”

In our playbook, admitting your mistakes is the first sign of progress, and DeBoer did exactly that during a conversation with BamaOnLine. 15 months into the job, and you have already witnessed 2 portal exoduses: The first happened when Saban announced his retirement, and the second one happened right after the season.

When your whole roster is falling apart in that fashion, with 13-14 talented but underutilized players instantly leaving the school, it truly makes you second-guess your plans about the Tide. But let’s be honest, would any of it have really happened if you had just played good ball?

Just look at the Vandy game, per se. Your roster is coming off of a 4-win high, which also includes a VERY important triumph over Georgia, and then you go and lose by 5 points to an unranked team? Truth be told, this game wasn’t that much about being “better at situational things” as it was about the offense and the O-line being an absolute disaster.

Jalen Milroe was a deer caught in the headlights and failed to make any notable connections with the runners. Those 310 yards mean nothing if you cannot put up points on the board. Then there was the running corps—we never knew Bama ONE runner? When will Nick Sheridan learn how to fire all cylinders instead of only relying on Ryan Williams for the carry?

There were problems, yes. But these problems had solutions that were never implemented, and hence why, after 17 long years, Alabama found itself right back where it had started when Nick Saban first took the job in Tuscaloosa in 07’—Albeit from 7-6 to 9-4.

But now, with a bit of coaching changes and much of the QB issues walking out with Jalen Milroe heading to the draft, can Kalen DeBoer turn the tide for the Crimson Tide, or will he once again find himself overwhelmed?

Crimson Tide revival?

We think fans would agree that the biggest conundrum surrounding Alabama is “Who will take the starting quarterback job?”. Fans did breathe a sigh of relief when Milroe declared for the draft. However, he still had his upsides. Dude was a filthy rusher and could run the ball like his life depended on it. But who do we have now?

Ty Simpson, true freshman Keelon Russell and Austin Mack. Much of the early narrative focused on Keelon taking over the reins. After all, almost every other team in the SEC is turning to their freshmen raw talent to fuel the engines of war. So why won’t Bama do the same?

Well, the question isn’t about who Bama will use as QB1. The question is more about which one out of the three would pair best with DeBoer. At the end of the day, you have to understand that Kalen DeBoer is a quarterback connoisseur. Yes, his stint with Milroe might not have felt that way, but history begs to differ.

Lorenzo Brown (Sioux Falls): 2 NAIA championship wins with a 29-win record. Marcus McMaryion (Fresno): Over 6k yards under his belt and 50+ touchdowns. Then, finally, Michael Penix Jr. at Washington. From a nobody to a Heisman winner and Top 8 pick at the draft.

These are the talents DeBoer has brewed, and now with 3 options available, only time will tell what the new Bama HC would manage to brew. Something sweet to honor the revival of the Crimson Tide? Or a poison that will hammer the final nail into the coffin?