The Alabama Crimson Tide football program may not have the funds to fire head coach Kalen DeBoer this season, considering the $63 million buyout the university would be on the hook for if he is let go.
USA Today’s John Adams doesn’t expect AD Greg Byrne to make such an expensive call so soon after asking fans to do their part and donate to the Yea Alabama NIL fund in December 2024.
“I sprained my ankle springing free of the DeBoer bandwagon during that debacle in Tallahassee. Is Alabama drilling for oil? If not, does Texas A&M have any funds leftover from firing Jimbo Fisher (at a cost of $76 million) that it could loan Alabama? My gut tells me Alabama isn't too eager to shell out more than $60 million to fire DeBoer at a time when schools also need money to pay their athletes. So, I wouldn't label DeBoer as being on the hot seat just yet, but the fact that we're using the words "hot seat" and "buyout" in the same sentence with a coach who's only 14 games deep into his tenure should tell you how this is going for DeBoer,” Adams wrote.
On3’s Andy Staples believes that, regardless of the team’s record, DeBoer could lose his job based on performance.
“If you have 3 more losses like that this year, he's going to be fired. I don't care how big the buyout is. It's Alabama. You can't go 8-4,” Staples wrote.
Alabama still has 11 games to right the ship. But the early results are not promising, and the culture issues may be too much to overcome.
You can’t teach hustle to players who don’t have that in them, but the issue looks more like respect. DeBoer simply isn’t getting out of these players what Nick Saban and his various coaching staffs got.
We’ll see how long the university’s brain trust can put up with that, since fan backlash is at a dangerous fever pitch in Tuscaloosa.