Alabama HC Kalen DeBoer addresses agonizing losses suffered after taking over Nick Saban’s job
Alabama hired Kalen DeBoer as head coach to replace the successful Nick Saban, who won six national championships with the Crimson Tide during his tenure in Tuscaloosa.
However, in his first season, DeBoer couldn't lead the program to the College Football Playoff, losing four key games in the 2024 season. Like Saban, even DeBoer is not used to losing that many games, as before arriving in Tuscaloosa, he led Washington to the national championship game in the 2023 season.
During an hour-long chat with podcaster John Gaskins, DeBoer made his feelings known in his first season leading the Crimson Tide and how he navigated the close losses.
"Yeah, it was really, it was really challenging," the Alabama coach said. "But I also just know that I've gotten to this point by just continuing to fight, continuing to swing, continuing to stay the course — as Coach Young would have said — going back to those fundamentals and that kind of style.
"Just, you know, continuing to stay the course and continuing to pour into your why, and continuing to understand and believe in the people around you. And understand that the plan you have in place — as much as you’ve got to be flexible and fluid — you understand that, hey, there are some core things that we’ve just got to keep hammering, stay on."
The 2024 season marked the first time DeBoer lost four games in a season as a head coach in college football. Apart from the Covid-shortened 3-3 season with Fresno State, DeBoer has never lost more than two games across his decade-long head coaching career, which has a 113-16 overall record.
Kalen DeBoer spoke about close losses Alabama suffered in 2024 season
The Crimson Tide lost three games in the regular season which landed them out of favor with the College Football Playoff committee.
Their first loss came as a surprising upset against Vanderbilt, falling 40-35 on the road. A couple of weeks later, they suffered another setback in a tough rivalry matchup against 11th-ranked Tennessee, losing 24-17 in Knoxville. Their third defeat came on Nov. 24 against Oklahoma, a 24-3 loss.
Finally, Alabama closed the season with a hard-fought game in the ReliaQuest Bowl on Dec. 31 but came up short against Michigan, losing 19-13.
During the same segment, DeBoer spoke about the close losses, saying they could have won all of them.
"We lost some close games last year," DeBoer said. "We lost three games by seven points or less. And, you know, we had a chance to win all of those, and we’ve got to be great and better in the critical moments.
"There are other critical moments where we were really good—where we did win some of those games. And every game in the SEC, in particular, when you get into a high level—a higher level—the closer and the finer the line is between winning and losing."
These losses contributed to a 9-4 overall record under coach Kalen DeBoer.