Kalen DeBoer's first season in Tuscaloosa didn't go according to plan, coming up short of the College Football Playoff. The Alabama Crimson Tide were accustomed to success at the highest level under Nick Saban, and DeBoer's inability to continue that could lead to the program debating keeping him around. Alabama's Week 8 matchup at home against the Tennessee Volunteers in 2025 looks to be one with huge implications for what the future will hold.
“The patience would wear out real fast if they were to lose that game at home to Tennessee.”@joelklatt with more on pressure points for Kalen DeBoer in his second season with the Tide. pic.twitter.com/y71yDLTtV1
— The Joel Klatt Show: A CFB Pod (@JoelKlattShow) June 9, 2025
2024 saw Alabama fall to Tennessee, by a score of 24-17. The Crimson Tide fans may have let that loss slide, but being defeated by the rival Volunteers two years in a row would be sure to create a huge, negative reaction. The teams will each have many new faces, but the main similarity will be DeBoer and Josh Heupel leading the way for either side.
If Alabama were to lose in Week 8 of the upcoming year, it would send it in the wrong direction down the most difficult stretch of its schedule. The matchup against Tennessee is followed up by three formidable SEC foes, with a road game at South Carolina and a brief home stand against LSU and Oklahoma. Each of those three games should be a competitive matchup, and without the fans on their side, the Crimson Tide and DeBoer could be in trouble.
This past season saw DeBoer walk away with the most losses of his coaching career (4), as he'll look to right the ship. Despite his past success at Washington and beyond, the task of coaching the most prolific college football program of the last few decades is a whole different beast. Fans of the Tide haven't seen a championship since 2020, and with 2024 being the program's worst season since 2007, they'll be expecting to get right back on track.
Most of the time, a head coach can be given a break in his first season with a new program, but after having a full year under his belt in Tuscaloosa, the expectations are rising and becoming more demanding for DeBoer.