The No. 17 Alabama Crimson Tide have a colossal matchup looming against the No. 5 Georgia Bulldogs. Saturday night's matchup against the Dawgs is not only pivotal for the Tide's College Football Playoff hopes, but it could determine how long head coach Kalen DeBoer remains in Tuscaloosa.
DeBoer is in his second season as Alabama's head coach, taking over for the legendary Nick Saban last fall after Saban retired. Saban, who spent 17 seasons at Alabama, set a gold standard with the Tide. The greatest college coach of all time retired having won six national titles and 206 career wins, leaving the Alabama fanbase with sky-high expectations.
So high, in fact, that DeBoer, after losing in Week 1 to then-unranked Florida State, seemingly already has a warm seat. Here's a look at DeBoer's record so far at Alabama and how it compares to Saban's early years.
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Kalen DeBoer record at Alabama
DeBoer has coached just 16 games over his two seasons so far, compiling an 11-5 record. Last season, he finished 3-1 against ranked opponents, including a 41-34 win over then-No. 2 Georgia and victories over No. 21 Missouri and No. 14 LSU.
But the Tide had a disappointing end to the 2024 season, falling 24-3 to unranked Oklahoma and losing 19-13 to Michigan in the ReliaQuest Bowl to finish 9-4. Alabama had an outside shot at making the College Football Playoff, but the committee opted to give spots to SMU and Indiana instead. After the loss to Michigan, the decision seemed justified.
So far, DeBoer has yet to face any ranked opponents in 2025, making Saturday night his first such test this season. Through three games, Alabama is 2-1, with the loss to Florida State in Week 1 and victories over Louisiana-Monroe and Wisconsin.
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Nick Saban record in Years 1-2 at Alabama
How does DeBoer's early record with the Tide compare to his predecessor? In 2007, Saban's first season at Alabama, the Tide went 7-6. Alabama actually got off to a strong start to the season, opening 6-2. But the Tide lost four of their last five games to close out the year, including a shocking home loss to Louisiana-Monroe in mid-November.
Alabama rebounded with a 30-24 Independence Bowl victory over Colorado.
In Saban's second season at Alabama in 2008, his team started the year a perfect 3-0. In fact, the Tide went undefeated during the entire regular season, beating ranked teams like Georgia and LSU. But Alabama fell 31-20 to No. 2 Florida in the SEC Championship, and then lost shockingly 31-17 to Utah in the Sugar Bowl.
- Saban record in first 16 games: 10-6
- DeBoer record in first 16 games: 11-5
As you can see, these early records are eerily similar.
Where did Kalen DeBoer coach before Alabama?
DeBoer got his first FBS coaching gig at Fresno State from 2020-21, where he finished 12-6, including a 3-3 mark during a shortened COVID season in 2020, and finishing 9-3 with the Bulldogs in 2021. DeBoer was previously Fresno State's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach from 2018-18, then spent one season at Indiana as the Hoosiers offensive coordinator in 2019.
He then was hired at Washington, where he finished with back-to-back double-digit win seasons. The Huskies went 11-2 in 2022, capped off with an Alamo Bowl victory over Texas. He led Washington to a 14-1 season in 2023, as the Huskies lone loss was to Michigan in the CFP National Championship.
Prior to his FBS coaching days, DeBoer was both an assistant and NAIA head coach. From 2014-16 he served as Eastern Michigan's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. He held the same roles at Southern Illinois from 2010-13.
From 2005-09 he was the head coach at NAIA Sioux Falls, where he played as a wide receiver and started as an OC from 2000-04. He led Sioux Falls to three NAIA national titles in 2006, 2008 and 2009. He started his coaching career as an assistant at Washington High School from 1998-99.
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Kalen DeBoer coaching record
DeBoer has a 48-14 overall FBS record spanning his six seasons. Overall, his record is 115-17 as a head coach. Against top-25 teams, his record is 15-3, and he has a 2-2 record in bowl games so far.
| Season | Team | Record |
| 2020 | Fresno State | 3-3 |
| 2021 | Fresno State | 9-3 |
| 2022 | Washington | 11-2 |
| 2023 | Washington | 14-1 |
| 2024 | Alabama | 9-4 |
| 2025 | Alabama | 2-1* |
*Through three games
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