"Nobody cares": Former Alabama safety delivers hot take on Kalen DeBoer & Co's transition period after decision to change Nick Saban's system
Kalen DeBoer was appointed as Nick Saban's successor at Alabama in February after the latter announced his retirement. While there was bound to be a transitional phase after Saban's 17-year spell with the Tide, former Alabama safety Roman Harper believes that DeBoer needs to address the shortcomings of the team, after the Tide suffered their second loss of the season against Tennessee on Saturday.
During an appearance on ESPN's College Gameday Podcast on Wednesday, Harper was asked how much of Alabama's season was affected by the natural transition of DeBoer taking over the reins from Saban, which also led to the change in the system for the team (11:40).
"I think 35% of it is probably attributed to that," Harper said. "That's where it's at, but the thing about it, Rece, is that nobody cares."
Harper, who spent four seasons at Alabama and also won the Super Bowl with the New Orleans Saints in 2010, added:
"If you think people are not ready to kick Alabama while they are down, just look at how happy it made the whole country when they lost to Vandy."
Alabama (5-2 overall, 2-2 in the Southeastern Conference) cannot afford to lose another game if the team has plans to make the College Football Playoff.
The Tide lost their first game of the season against Vanderbilt 40-35 on Oct. 5. Their second defeat, was a 24-17 loss against Tennessee on Saturday.
Kalen DeBoer's Alabama drop to No. 15 in AP Poll heading into Week 9
Kalen DeBoer's Alabama tumbled to No. 15 in the latest AP Poll rankings that were released earlier this week. It is the Tide's lowest ranking since 2010.
Notably, Alabama was the top-ranked team in the country before losing to Vanderbilt earlier this month. After the defeat against Tennessee, the Tide have now dropped from No. 8 to No. 15, which, as things stand, puts them out of the playoff spots.
Alabama will face the No. 21 Missouri Tigers in Week 9 of the season this coming Saturday.