Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer is facing one of the toughest jobs in college football—replacing the legendary Nick Saban in Tuscaloosa. After a 9-4 finish in 2024, DeBoer has the Tide at 4-1 midway through the season, including back-to-back wins over Georgia and Vanderbilt.
Unlike Saban, DeBoer is known for wearing a black Alabama hoodie on the sidelines during games. Interestingly, the team seems to perform better when he wears it compared to other attire.
The Crimson Tide will travel to face No. 14 Missouri in Week 7. Here’s a look at how DeBoer’s black hoodie has taken on a life of its own early in the 2025 season.
MORE: How Kalen DeBoer's record compares to Nick Saban in Years 1-2
Kalen DeBoer record by outfit
DeBoer has coached in 17 games for the Tide through his two seasons. Here's a look at his record in his game day outfits:
- Black hoodie: 12-2
- Other outfits: 1-3
Black hoodie
DeBoer has an impressive record when wearing the black hoodie. During the 2024 season, he defeated No. 2 Georgia, No. 21 Missouri, and No. 15 LSU, all while sporting it.
The two losses he suffered last season while wearing the hoodie came against Oklahoma, which ended the Tide’s playoff hopes, and Michigan in the ReliaQuest Bowl. The Oklahoma hoodie he wore, however, was slightly different from the usual dri-fit version he favors—more on that shortly.
Here’s a look at how he’s fared wearing other outfits during his Alabama tenure.
Red polo: 0-1
DeBoer opted to wear a red Alabama polo during the Tide's Week 1 road game against Florida State.
The Tide fell 31-17 to Florida State, whose offense, led by quarterback Tommy Castellanos, put up 382 total yards of offense on Alabama's defense. Alabama was held to just 87 rushing yards on the ground, too.
Red hooded pullover: 0-1
DeBoer wore this sleeveless pullover against Tennessee in 2024.
The Tide lost 24-17 as the defense gave up 24 points in the second half to the Vols. The result gave Alabama its second loss of the season, and knocked them down far in the SEC standings.
Red dri-fit t-shirt: 0-1
Against Vanderbilt last season, DeBoer opted to wear a red dri-fit t-shirt.
Alabama suffered one of the most shocking losses in program history, falling 40-35 to Vanderbilt. Quarterback Diego Pavia and the Commodores totaled 418 yards of offense, while the Tide managed just 84 rushing yards. The defeat marked the first time in 40 years that the No. 1–ranked Tide lost at Vanderbilt.
Black hoodie with red sleeves: 0-1
Alabama entered its game in late November against unranked Oklahoma still very much in the playoff hunt, with just two losses and ranked 7th overall. DeBoer wore a black hoodie with what looks like red sleeves:
Technically, this is a black hoodie, but it’s clearly different from the other black hoodies DeBoer has worn. The material looks different, and it features unusual red sleeves that appear to be sewn onto the ends.
It’s the only logical explanation for Alabama’s 24-3 loss to Oklahoma, which completely ended the Tide’s playoff hopes.
MORE: Revisiting Kalen DeBoer's college football playing career
Kalen DeBoer's black hoodie of death
As you might expect, DeBoer’s hoodie has drawn plenty of attention. In fact, it has earned the nickname “the black hoodie of death” among Alabama fans.
Black hoodie of death pic.twitter.com/1y6AeOMMT1
— 🅱️🅰️Ⓜ️ (@justbam_3) October 8, 2025
Ahead of Alabama's game against Missouri, even Tigers head coach Eli Drinkwitz got in on the fun. During the SEC Coaches' Teleconference, Drinkwitz asked if DeBoer was going to wear the hoodie.
“Hey Kalen,” Drinkwitz said as transcribed by Al.com. “Are you gonna wear the black hoodie of death on the sideline this game, with us wearing black jerseys?”
“Oh, coach Drink,” DeBoer said, before both coaches laughed. “I gotta fit in somehow. More than likely. We’ll see what the forecast is. I kind of know, but yeah, I’m executing that, so it’s kind of got its own life of its own right now.”
“That’s only question I needed to find out for the day,” Drinkwitz said.
DeBoer also appeared on the podcast "Bussin' With The Boys" earlier this week to discuss the viralness of the hoodie:
"It's funny how something you've done for so long all of a sudden becomes a thing now," DeBoer said. "That's what I've been comfortable in for years and it does get washed, I can promise you that. There have been a couple of hot games the last few weeks."
Coach DeBoer’s black hoodie is becoming part of his lore, but does he wash it? pic.twitter.com/JSbGjpJwck
— Bussin' With The Boys (@BussinWTB) October 7, 2025
DeBoer did wear a similar black hoodie when he was the head coach at Washington, to be fair:
As the fall weather starts to cool things down, it'll be interesting to see if DeBoer continues with the black hoodie trend.