Alabama announced no immediate changes following their season-opening loss, but questions continue mounting around first-year head coach Kalen DeBoer after the Crimson Tide’s struggles against Florida State.
The team fell 31-17 to the Seminoles in a performance that landed Alabama in ESPN’s Bottom 10 rankings for Week 1.
DeBoer updated the head coach’s office in the Mal Moore Athletic Complex but hasn’t established his authority with the program. Players aren’t supporting teammates or celebrating on-field achievements.
The defense under coordinator Kane Wommack hasn’t met Alabama’s standards.
ESPN’s Ryan McGee placed the Crimson Tide in his Bottom 10 and highlighted the pressure DeBoer faces from Alabama’s coaching legacy.
“The Coveted Fifth Spot is Bottom 10 holy ground. When you walk into this room, you do so by strolling past papier-mâché busts of Randy Edsall and Jeremy Pruitt. If you’ve ever been to the Alabama football facility, then you know that when Kalen DeBoer goes to work, he walks past the giant bronze heads of Wallace Wade, Bear Bryant, Gene Stallings and Nick Saban. I wonder, after you lose to Florida State 31-17: Do those busts make scary faces and sing spooky songs like the ones on the Haunted Mansion ride?”
The coaching change has created speculation about Nick Saban’s feelings regarding his retirement decision.
Reports suggest Saban may be questioning whether he left too soon. USA Today’s Matt Hayes wrote about the former coach’s potential regrets.
“Watching the now listless Alabama program, this group of furloughed players from the unrelenting taskmaster of years past, is too much for one rare, megalomaniacal legend of a coach to bear. And that means the lovely Ms. Terry has to bear it, too. By proxy.”
Hayes described how coaching families handle the stress of major program transitions.
“The women who willingly choose to marry into the untenable profession with their husbands, who live and breathe it on a daily basis, are the last line of sanity. When everything else is up to a million, they modulate the turmoil down to one. Because right now Nick is looking at Terry and asking if they did the right thing. He feels guilty, he could’ve done more. He let down the players and the university.”
Alabama fans are waiting for answers about whether DeBoer can successfully replace Saban or if another coaching change might come soon.
The program hasn’t announced any roster moves or staff adjustments following the loss.
