Coaching carousel 2025-26

[Cruloc]

I boggles my mind that some here still like Mcelroy. He's a complete French shower bag who only cares about himself.

I still choose to remember him hopping down the sideline to stay in bounds in the 2009 SECCG. Out played Tebow that day.

 

[4Q Basket Case]

Who do you think is a better coach than KD (who would realistically leave their current job to come to Alabama)? I’m seriously interested in hearing your thoughts.

I’ve asked that question on a hundred different topics.

I’ve found that answers other than “Anybody,” or “Anything,” (depending on the topic) are hard to come by.

 

[Cruiser]

Yeah but that doesn’t feed into the apparently self-satisfying narrative that Greg has sold Alabama out and is basically indifferent if not hostile to the school and the program now.

I really disagree with that take; sometimes(like this week) he goes over board defending Alabama on Mac & Cube, professing that the Georgia game was not as bad as the score made it look?? When he is calling a game; he has to do his job. Saying CKD would be a Mich, candidate is obvious. Does not mean he thinks or wants him to take the job.
I actually think Greg would be a real prospect to be A.D. at Alabama; he loves the school and tradition and has the intellectual talent.
He could live anywhere ; but made his home in Birmingham and relates his love for the city and state.
I know he can come across sometimes with the "smartest guy in the room" approach (and he probably is ); but he usually is well informed.
And; he and Cole know football X's and O's.

 

[bamaga]

I was on MGoBlog, and saw this post and cracked up - when did Harbaugh become a legend? In their own minds?

It may not be that he doesn't like life in the south as much as trying to please a spoiled fan base following the era of a top 5 coach. Alabama or Michigan he was going to replace a legend and thats not an easy job. Now, if he took the Michigan job today thats a win since he'd be replacing Moore and not Harbaugh.

 

[Jack Bourbon]

I wish Michigan would target Grubb!!

That ship has disembarked

 

[crimsonaudio]

I still choose to remember him hopping down the sideline to stay in bounds in the 2009 SECCG. Out played Tebow that day.

Yehh, I get it - but it's like remembering the good times with your girlfriend before she cheated on you...

 

[TideEngineer08]

I was on MGoBlog, and saw this post and cracked up - when did Harbaugh become a legend? In their own minds?

“Following a top 5 coach”

Nick Saban was the best coach of all time and if an argument could be made for anyone else it would be Paul W. Bryant.

 

[Crimson1967]

This may be an unpopular opinion but if DeBoer announces he is going to Michigan he needs to be out the door five seconds later. I don’t want him sticking around to finish the playoffs.

 

[bamaga]

911 call was released, the female claimed she was being attacked in her home and the male had been stalking her for months.

 

[bamaga]

This may be an unpopular opinion but if DeBoer announces he is going to Michigan he needs to be out the door five seconds later. I don’t want him sticking around to finish the playoffs.

That isn’t unpopular, maybe the coach we pay $500k / year can guide the ship temporarily in the playoffs.

 

[BamaInBham]

Two of them are recruiters, one of them is a coach

To be fair, Freeman and Lanning are legitimate defensive coaches. Both were high level, successful DCs at their hiring. I do think Lanning is a poor in-game coach. But he is very young and can improve. Freeman seems to be a little inconsistent, e.g., the Northern Illinois loss last year with a CFP finalist. But he too is vey young.

 

[BamaInBham]

Thinking of young coaches (from the previous post): Keep in mind that this is Kalen DeBoer’s 4th year at the P4 level. And of course his 2nd year in the SEC, which is so different from the PACxx that it’s almost a different level. But despite his laidback manner, he is a fierce competitor. He’s learning. Not only has he totally changed the culture (almost a 180 difference), dramatically changing both the offensive and defensive philosophies and schemes, thus needing to change the kinds of players, both physically and mentally. All this while the entire nature of the game is being fundamentally altered by various forces, with many of those changes not being settled yet. What an incredible undertaking.

If patience has ever been warranted, it is now with Coach DeBoer and staff.

 

[BamaInBham]

Much like Finebaum, Cowherd has made a career of having "hot takes" and declarations, and yet, despite being more wrong than a weatherman, he still has a lucrative career financially (good for him). These guys have the ability to create conversation, and if that means making a wrong hot take, they do not really care how accurate their words are. Much like other prominent people today, they believe simply declaring a statement makes it true, until proven otherwise.

This is certainly true in regard to Cowherd. IMO, though Finebaum is similar to Cowherd, he is different. But to your point: Cowherd has stated plainly that his job is not to be accurate but to be interesting.

(I haven’t listened much to Cowherd, but IMO, enough. But I listened to Finebaum for years when he was in the Birmingham market. He is highly intelligent and a joy to listen to when he is seriously interviewing a guest. He sometimes went off the rails during an inactive period when he would stoop to the level of some callers to “enliven” his show or just break the boredom.) I’ve probably just lowered or destroyed any credibility I might have on the board by praising Finebaum, as I’ve occasionally done in the past. I will add that he has been one of the few national voices, and a very important one, that over the decades, has fearlessly promoted and defended Alabama on the national stage. Yes, he criticizes, sometimes harshly but it is usually warranted (maybe not the harshness) and IMO, meant to balance his open praise.

 

[tidetx]

Agreed. And you didn’t include the organized sign -stealing scheme executed for multiple years on his watch.

 

[CB4]

This is certainly true in regard to Cowherd. IMO, though Finebaum is similar to Cowherd, he is different. But to your point: Cowherd has stated plainly that his job is not to be accurate but to be interesting.

(I haven’t listened much to Cowherd, but IMO, enough. But I listened to Finebaum for years when he was in the Birmingham market. He is highly intelligent and a joy to listen to when he is seriously interviewing a guest. He sometimes went off the rails during an inactive period when he would stoop to the level of some callers to “enliven” his show or just break the boredom.) I’ve probably just lowered or destroyed any credibility I might have on the board by praising Finebaum, as I’ve occasionally done in the past. I will add that he has been one of the few national voices, and a very important one, that over the decades, has fearlessly promoted and defended Alabama on the national stage. Yes, he criticizes, sometimes harshly but it is usually warranted (maybe not the harshness) and IMO, meant to balance his open praise.

Yep. I remember when Paul wrote for the Post Herald here in Birmingham. And had a local afternoon drive time radio program. All well before his national syndication. His columns tended to “gin up” stuff prior to his radio days. He took a similar format with his radio program, inviting a regular clowns to call him. It really IMO appeals to the lowest common denominator in sports fans. Many find it entertaining. I find it simply annoying. It’s chewing gum for the sports fan’s brain. I quit listening to him years ago because the quality content in terms of guests was overrun with a clown troop of callers.

However, Paul is one of the absolute best when it comes to interviews. He is really is tremendously bright guy. Funny thing. If you ever meet him in person, Paul is really a tremendously nice guy. Very reserve and quiet. Completely different from what he portrays on his show.

 

[DzynKingRTR]

Yep. I remember when Paul wrote for the Post Herald here in Birmingham. And had a local afternoon drive time radio program. All well before his national syndication. His columns tended to “gin up” stuff prior to his radio days. He took a similar format with his radio program, inviting a regular clowns to call him. It really IMO appeals to the lowest common denominator in sports fans. Many find it entertaining. I find it simply annoying. It’s chewing gum for the sports fan’s brain. I quit listening to him years ago because the quality content in terms of guests was overrun with a clown troop of callers.

However, Paul is one of the absolute best when it comes to interviews. He is really is tremendously bright guy. Funny thing. If you ever meet him in person, Paul is really a tremendously nice guy. Very reserve and quiet. Completely different from what he portrays on his show.

I listened to finebaum once, that was more than enough for me. I listened to Cowherd for about 2 weeks before stopping and wanting that 2 weeks back.

 

[TideEngineer08]

Yep. I remember when Paul wrote for the Post Herald here in Birmingham. And had a local afternoon drive time radio program. All well before his national syndication. His columns tended to “gin up” stuff prior to his radio days. He took a similar format with his radio program, inviting a regular clowns to call him. It really IMO appeals to the lowest common denominator in sports fans. Many find it entertaining. I find it simply annoying. It’s chewing gum for the sports fan’s brain. I quit listening to him years ago because the quality content in terms of guests was overrun with a clown troop of callers.

However, Paul is one of the absolute best when it comes to interviews. He is really is tremendously bright guy. Funny thing. If you ever meet him in person, Paul is really a tremendously nice guy. Very reserve and quiet. Completely different from what he portrays on his show.

It was different before he went on to ESPN. I listened for years during the 90s, every afternoon after school especially during football season. Remember those were the DuBose years/Tater Tot/Tubby. The comedy from those years (sometimes dark as an Alabama fan) will never be replicated.

 

[BamaMoon]

Joel Klatt-

View attachment 54706

I'd contribute $$$ to help them hire Elko from A$M.

That's a lunatic fanbase and for the 1st time in a long time, they feel good about where they are with a coach.

Their heads would explode if Elko left them for Meatchicken!!!

 

[arthurdawg]

Wow... just wow...

Go look at our 2026 schedule...

The best Nick Saban teams would be hard pressed to make it through that unscathed.

Anyway, I think DeBoer is flexible and knows our problems and will work aggressively to correct them in the off season. We aren't getting a "better" coach and we should give him two more years.

And be very aware... 10-2 is a phenomenally successful year next year with the schedule. We must do something about our scheduling. 1st step is to break out of any tough non-con matchups... Then demand the SEC give us something to work with.

 

[TideEngineer08]

Wow... just wow...

Go look at our 2026 schedule...

The best Nick Saban teams would be hard pressed to make it through that unscathed.

Anyway, I think DeBoer is flexible and knows our problems and will work aggressively to correct them in the off season. We aren't getting a "better" coach and we should give him two more years.

And be very aware... 10-2 is a phenomenally successful year next year with the schedule. We must do something about our scheduling. 1st step is to break out of any tough non-con matchups... Then demand the SEC give us something to work with.

The schedule isn't terrible, although I agree 10-2 would probably be seen as successful when all is said and done.

What is Florida State going to be? It sure looked like we completely misjudged them going into this season, and they were going to be a contender. It turns out they were who we thought they would be, we just gagged that game like a cat choking on a hairball. At least next year we get them in Bryant-Denny, and it is the 3rd game of the year. This is huge. We get East Carolina and at Kentucky to start off with and can get some of the wrinkles ironed out before FSU comes to town.

The SEC schedule is what it is every year now. We play our 3 permanent games then half the remaining one year, the other half the next. Not much we can hope for there unless the SEC goes back to 8 games.