Chris Low and Andy Staples on3 article - Early in KDB’s tenure, real concerns are surfacing in Tuscaloosa.

[CB4]

I would kill to get Brian Kelly ,,, Deboer is a joke

Probably a poor choice of words when it relates to Brian Kelly

 

[81usaf92]

Lanning was a top option don’t let anyone convince you otherwise. There is a reason that he made a spectacle after signing his deal with Oregon days after Saban retired.

Alabama fans almost act like Texas fans in believing anyone will come here. The biggest problem in coaching searches is not money it’s timing. I’ll put it this way… had Saban retired in 22 instead of 23 then there would virtually be no way we got DeBoer and it is very realistic we got Lanning. Why? Simply put DeBoer had a realistic shot at a NC with that roster coming back whereas there were tons of questions about Oregon going in.

Lanning, Dabo, and Sark aren’t coming to Bama unless they get fired or just get tired of their current predicament and just want a place with even more stress than they currently feel. I don’t think Byrne will be the AD when the next coach is hired. But if he is then expect a young guy that is an up and comer and stop expecting every hire to be a who’s who list.

 

[RammerJammer14]

Good for the power brokers. They are fuming like us due to this:

The loss to Florida State was DeBoer’s fourth to an unranked opponent since taking over in Tuscaloosa, matching the total number of games Saban lost to unranked opponents across his 17 seasons as the Crimson Tide’s head coach. DeBoer is also 5-5 in his last 10 games after a 4-0 start to his tenure last season.

Alabama just got some major help to pay for a potential Kalen DeBoer buyout

Alabama is set to debut new on-field sponsorships for the first time at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

bamahammer.com

Also- 3 of Saban’s 4 losses to an unranked team occurred in the 2007 season (LMonroe, Miss State, Florida State) and 1 in 2021 (aTm- by 3 points; last second FG)

 

[81usaf92]

Only one that might have been realistic is Dabo.

1) Sark is far more realistic than Dabo.
2) Dabo would be a disaster of epic proportions

 

[RollTide_HTTR]

1) Sark is far more realistic than Dabo.
2) Dabo would be a disaster of epic proportions

Not a Dabo fan at all and idk what he would do here. Just thinking about who would possibly say yes

I'd be shocked if Sark was realistic idk why he would leave Texas unless he's seen as a failure there at some point.

 

[AlexanderFan]

Not a Dabo fan at all and idk what he would do here. Just thinking about who would possibly say yes

I'd be shocked if Sark was realistic idk why he would leave Texas unless he's seen as a failure there at some point.

If you think Bama boosters are mad right now, wait until Texas or Oregon falls flat a few more times.

 

[smith5753]

Man I’ve laughed at auburn for so long about all the fired coaches they’re paying and here we are staying down the same potential problem.

 

[81usaf92]

Not a Dabo fan at all and idk what he would do here. Just thinking about who would possibly say yes

I'd be shocked if Sark was realistic idk why he would leave Texas unless he's seen as a failure there at some point.

Dabo is basically the guy going to his 50 year high school reunion and sees his high school sweetheart. He loves Alabama but he is married to Clemson. He won’t leave.

Sark is more possible strictly due to the nature of the Texas job.

 

[RollTide_HTTR]

If you think Bama boosters are mad right now, wait until Texas or Oregon falls flat a few more times.

Lanning or Sark may become more realistic but I meant at the time or even right now.

 

[BamaMoon]

The coaching talent has shrunk over the last 5-10 years. Not seeing the next Saban anywhere.

There is no next Saban. We have been lucky to have two of the very best to ever do it so odds are we won't get another for quite a long time. What we need is a hard nosed coach that can recruit players and other coaches. I mean, we were destined to fall off a bit after Nick retired but this new coach has sped up that process exponentially.

There is no "next Saban" but there will also never be a "football culture" like the one he coached in now the NIL and the transfer portal have changed it.

As we all agree, CNS, figured out how to master the college football world where recruiting, player development and discipline made great/championship teams.

In our new normal, those things don't work anymore...at least not in the same way they did pre-NIL/transfer portal.

I wanted us to get Lanning from the get go. He's hard nosed and knows the grind of the SEC. But he's locked with all that Nike money at Oregon.

Lanning would have been the best fit for Alabama. Maybe not immediately after Saban though. DeBoer appears to be the sacrificial lamb for the guy following the legend. No one ever want to be that guy.

Not sure Byrne would have ever gone after Lanning though.

So the next great coach may be someone like Lanning, but who knows.

It'll be the one who figures out how to work the current system like CNS worked the previous one.

Yeah, we'll probably never see the same rate of success, but a guy that can win 1 or 2 NCs in a span of a few years will be considered that guy!

As for Lanning, if he can't win a NC at Oregon pretty soon, I think he'd consider a move back to the SEC or B1G. If he's wired right, he knows great coaches are measured in championships rather than bank accounts.

 

[Cruloc]

So the next great coach may be someone like Lanning, but who knows.

It'll be the one who figures out how to work the current system like CNS worked the previous one.

Yeah, we'll probably never see the same rate of success, but a guy that can win 1 or 2 NCs in a span of a few years will be considered that guy!

I don't expect a decade of dominance, what we had was something we'll never see again.

What I do expect:
- Hustle
- Sound football
- Toughness (mentally and physically)
- An attitude of beating the man you're up against
- Players holding each other accountable for poor play and poor attitude
- Coaches being coaches and not friends to the players

That's stuff money can't buy.

 

[lowend]

There is no "next Saban" but there will also never be a "football culture" like the one he coached in now the NIL and the transfer portal have changed it.

As we all agree, CNS, figured out how to master the college football world where recruiting, player development and discipline made great/championship teams.

In our new normal, those things don't work anymore...at least not in the same way they did pre-NIL/transfer portal.

I feel like being able to handle NIL culture was one of the things we heard about CKD when he was hired. A younger, player's coach capable of managing a roster for the new generation of college football.....or something like that.

 

[Bamabuzzard]

You are absolutely correct. A part of me thinks he will survive and make the adjustments necessary. But he will need to start with his D coordinator. I'd give it a 95% chance that Nick has reached out to him.

I hope he survives because it would mean he's turned it around, and we don't have to go on a coaching search or pay buyouts. But I'm not that optimistic that he survives. I've just seen too many red flags around the pillars that make a program great. Lack of discipline team wide, lack of passion and energy by the players on the field, lack of ability to make adjustments and fix problems from one season to the next, etc. There are just too many "things" that point to, "ain't going to work out".

 

[Special K]

I hope he survives because it would mean he's turned it around, and we don't have to go on a coaching search or pay buyouts. But I'm not that optimistic that he survives. I've just seen too many red flags around the pillars that make a program great. Lack of discipline team wide, lack of passion and energy by the players on the field, lack of ability to make adjustments and fix problems from one season to the next, etc. There are just too many "things" that point to, "ain't going to work out".

I'm in exactly the same place as you right now, couldn't have put it better myself.

 

[CoolBreeze]

I hope he survives because it would mean he's turned it around, and we don't have to go on a coaching search or pay buyouts. But I'm not that optimistic that he survives. I've just seen too many red flags around the pillars that make a program great. Lack of discipline team wide, lack of passion and energy by the players on the field, lack of ability to make adjustments and fix problems from one season to the next, etc. There are just too many "things" that point to, "ain't going to work out".

Good post and right again. Maybe I am optimistic to a fault on this issue but just get the feeling that this situation is going to change him for the better. He has been the savior everywhere he has been now suddenly he is bailing water. He clearly wants to win at the highest level and it not like he has not had success to this point. I don't find the dude arrogant, that he is right no matter what and clearly the whole world is showing him is shortcomings. I get the feeling, like you said, that if he survives the season then he will enact the necessary changes to get the ship afloat and back on course. The problem is, of course, this season is going to be one of the most tumultuous any of us have seen is quite a while. Not sure the powers that be will let him continue to captain the ship through November if sudden changes aren't seen on the field and in the W column.

 

[BamaFan6462]

I hope he survives because it would mean he's turned it around, and we don't have to go on a coaching search or pay buyouts. But I'm not that optimistic that he survives. I've just seen too many red flags around the pillars that make a program great. Lack of discipline team wide, lack of passion and energy by the players on the field, lack of ability to make adjustments and fix problems from one season to the next, etc. There are just too many "things" that point to, "ain't going to work out".

Well said. If we had seen any indication at this point that he has done something differently to solve problems from last year, I‘d feel more confident about him. Something else that worries me is what I saw on the press conference after the game on Monday. You know you’re going to have one of the most important and probably most watched pressers of your career with a day or two to prepare for it. Here’s your chance to show confidence and give decisive answers to questions everyone knows will be asked, but instead, you stammer, give rambling answers and display uncomfortable body language. If something that simple and quickly done isn’t corrected, you’re probably not going to clean up the multiple problems your program has no matter how much time you have to do it.

 

[InsaneMustang]

There are plenty of Fire KD websites already popping up. It's not that simple, but the fanbase is starting to turn.

 

[Bamabuzzard]

There are plenty of Fire KD websites already popping up. It's not that simple, but the fanbase is starting to turn.

Yeah, I think there's going to have to be a major change in the demeanor of the team and how it goes about its business on the field before any fan support begins to come back. The team is going to have to leave the bodies of the other team lying dead on the field before they start to be convinced that things have changed. The guy has really dug himself a hole.

 

[Valley View]

Living in Nashville I remember Watson Brown as head coach at Vanderbilt. Each week after terrible losses he had this blank, deer in the headlights look at press conferences, like how did that just happen. I see that same look in CKD.

 

[sanjosecrimson]

Man I’ve laughed at auburn for so long about all the fired coaches they’re paying and here we are staying down the same potential problem.

Not me, I am still laughing at the barn and always will!!

SNASS