The Alabama Crimson Tide are looking to bounce back following a lopsided road loss to unranked Florida State. The Tide get UL-Monroe at home on Saturday night, and the Tide are 36.5-point favorites.
If Alabama doesn't put up a lot of points on Saturday night, expect head coach Kalen DeBoer's seat to get hotter than it already is. In his first season taking over for Nick Saban, the Tide missed out on the playoff and lost to Michigan in the ReliaQuest Bowl.
The loss to Florida State paired with a noticeable regression on defense and overall discipline has Tuscaloosa buzzing about making a change as early as this season.
Let's take a look at DeBoer's buyout with Alabama if the school does decide to fire him this season.
More: College football rankings from 1 to 136 for Week 2: Will Oklahoma, Michigan break defensive trends?
How much is DeBoer's buyout?
If Alabama chooses to fire DeBoer this season, the school would owe him approximately $63 million. Sure, that sounds like a hefty chunk of change, but let's not forget that just two years ago Texas A&M paid Jimbo Fisher a cool $75 million to do anything else but coach the Aggies.
The other caveat here for Alabama? The school is not required to pay DeBoer the full buyout in one installment. Per AL.com, if DeBoer is fired 'without cause' he'll be paid 90% of what's left of his contract, a sum set to be paid in monthly installments. The installments will be paid through the end of his contract term, which runs through 2031. The newspaper adds that the school won't owe the coach a payment from 2027-31.
On3's Andy Staples also further reported the way DeBoer's contract was set up earlier this week:
On3's @Andy_Staples details Kalen DeBoer's $60M+ buyout:
— On3 (@On3sports) September 3, 2025
“Kalen Deboer's on the other hand, is a monthly payment, equal monthly installments from when it happens through December 31, 2031.
When it happens like that, when it's set up like that, it becomes a line item.” https://t.co/xHvQWDUuvg pic.twitter.com/4REo7NEyzO
Staples also wrote about how the mood is in Tuscaloosa surrounding DeBoer. It sounds like big-money boosters aren't happy. Via On3:
As one longtime Alabama donor — and not just any donor, but the kind who has their portrait hanging in the Donor Hall of Recognition at Bryant-Denny Stadium — told On3: “We’re spoiled, always have been. But when we put a team out there that looks uninspired like we have far too many times these past two years and lose to teams that we’re clearly more talented than, that’s when it becomes a problem … and not just a bunch of spoiled fans griping.”
Sure, losing on the road to open the season as a double-digit favorite is never a good look. But remember, Florida State is just one season removed from a 2-10 record, so a drastic turnaround is possible.
A few more notes to encapsulate just how rough DeBoer’s tenure has started:
- Alabama is 5-5 in its last 10 games.
- Four of those losses came to unranked teams in Vanderbilt, Oklahoma, Michigan and Florida State
- Alabama gave up 230 yards to Florida State last week, and the Seminoles completed just 14 passes in its 31-17 victory.
- The last time Alabama lost more than three games? That was in 2007, during Saban's first season in Tuscaloosa. finished 2-10 last season
Also, you simply never saw a play like this happen with a Saban-coached defense:
It seems weird seeing an Alabama linebacker get pushed around. pic.twitter.com/7DH2SOXSE3
— ℍ𝕒𝕞𝕚𝕝𝕥𝕠𝕟:zap:️ (@HamDawg115) August 31, 2025
Yes, Alabama has a much easier opponent this week in UL-Monroe. But if the Tide plays how it did against Florida State, things could be rough. Alabama has remaining games against No. 4 Georgia, No. 22 Tennessee, No. 10 South Carolina, No. 3 LSU, No. 18 Oklahoma before finishing on the road against Auburn. Oof.
The one thing to keep in mind is that if the Tide has a poor showing on the road against Georgia, that could be enough for Alabama boosters to pull the plug.
More: College football picks, predictions against the spread for Week 2 matchups
DeBoer Alabama contract details
In January 2024, DeBoer signed an eight-year contract worth $87 million. Last season, he earned $10 million, with the agreement stipulating an annual increase of $250,000.
The deal also includes several bonus incentives: $75,000 for an SEC title game appearance, $150,000 for a College Football Playoff berth, $250,000 for reaching the quarterfinals, $400,000 for advancing to the semifinals, and more.