The pressure is on for Kalen DeBoer to outperform himself in his second year in Tuscaloosa. If not, chances are the Crimson Tide fans might not be as patient with him.
The Tide ended as an embarrassing four-loss team in 2024, a number that Alabama fans have never seen in the last 16 years under Nick Saban. The worst Saban went was 7-6 in 2007, his debut season with the Crimson Tide, and he went only up from there.
Perhaps, DeBoer can also recover as nicely as Saban did if he can find a way to crack their schedule. It is expected to be a tough nut to crack because of their schedule, but DeBoer needs to hit it out of the park.
Fox Sports' Joel Klatt explained why.
"So at this point, the fan base right now is just trying to be patient with Kalen DeBoer. We want to see what this guy has. Year two of DeBoer, year one was, let’s face it, a little underwhelming. They’re 9-4, the first time not winning 10 games since 2007. [The fans] are not going to sit around and wait for these eight-win and nine-win seasons. So, [fans are] trying to be patient," Klatt warned on his podcast.
"He’s in place at a place that is expected to win, and not just win, but win big and win at the highest level of college football. Can’t miss the playoff in particular … And I think that it could get a little uncomfortable for Kalen DeBoer when you look at that schedule."
Klatt is most concerned about the Crimson Tide's games against their SEC rivals, mainly Tennessee, South Carolina, LSU, and Georgia.
DeBoer and Co. can afford a maximum of two losses to call it a successful season because "we saw what 9-3 did last year, even in the SEC."
By and large, anything more than two losses will count for another dissatisfactory year for the Crimson Tide fans.