Or, a 36 yd field goal from 10-2 and hosting a CFP game at BDS
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The world has changed with NIL and the transfer portal. Some things we can lay at CKD's feet (craptastic running game, terrible playcalling) but the days of utter dominance are gone. Parity is a real thing.
I think that is the point to make to one's self...
Look at Auburn, LSU, Florida... All programs with plenty of cash and faring poorly.
We are recruiting well and while we need to turn a corner, being 10-3 and in the playoffs is better than many alternatives.
Not sure who we could have brought in as coach that would have done better. We have recruited well, have a good roster, and hopefully will improve the next two years.
But it could be much worse here in the brave new world.
Ryan Day...One of the most rabid fan bases was patient with Day and now it's paying off.
He’s had everything handed to him from Day 1…
Won w/a big payroll…surrounds himself well…
He’s a good general manager but I’m not sold on his coaching abilities…
Born 90 Ft from home…
I still love that someone keeps changing his wiki page for his birthplace location, 3rd base.
Not to turn the sentiment into an NFL one, but you can't compete for championships if you don't have the players, scheme, etc., that gives you chances to compete for a championship. A lot of Niner fans will rip Shanahan for this decision or that, but if you look at his coaching tenure in San Francisco, he's given the team multiple chances to compete for a championship. That sort of reflection may be required in college football, at least among the teams in the former Power 4.
Not every decision CKD has made to this point needs to be defended or criticized - both results require both things to be made at different times. I think CKD is the coach Alabama needs at this point, paired w/Morgan, and the fans need to be patient. At some point, you can't just fire a guy for being good on the field, and replace him with someone better, repeatedly.
Alabama fans loved to take the opposite side of this argument when it was the last coach.
"We're just two plays from being undefeated."
- 2022 Alabama fans
Not one of them wanted to say, "We were one play - the safety or the missed field goal or a missed field goal by us - from losing to Texas and six feet from losing to Texas A/M." We were also ONE PLAY from losing to Ole Miss and the Land Sharks had first and ten at our 14-yard-line with 2:23 to play down by six.
We were - in the most literal sense possible - three plays from our 10-2 being 7-5 despite having some legend coaching on the sidelines. But nobody ever wants to say it that way.
I'm not disputing there are some troubling things. Some of it are the growing pains any coach has when he takes over and especially when he succeeds a legend. Some of it is related to the paydays for players now and the portal. Some of it are from DeBoer's personal deficiencies that one hopes age and experience improve.
DeBoer is 51 right now. When Nick Saban was 51 years old, his 2002 team was regressing from 2001 SEC champions to "we're only 8-5 because of the Bluegrass Miracle" and a 31-0 clobbering at the hands of Alabama. He was in his 8th year at a MAJOR program and had coached in the NFL. DeBoer is in his FOURTH year at a major program and never set foot in the NFL. And 2002 Saban didn't have to contend with NIL or the portal, and he had Alabama and Kentucky on probation, Mississippi State headed to probation, and Auburn in enough disarray that Jetgate was right around the corner.
I'm not for one second suggesting DeBoer is the next Nick Saban, but he does seem to have learned quick corrections from last year. What hangs over this year was the total lack of preparedness for Florida State. Take that one loss away from Alabama, and the entire perception of how good we are or our worthiness for the playoff is changed dramatically.
He's not Saban, no.
But he's not:
- Mike DuBose, who would have stood there clapping after a stupid penalty
- Mike Shula, who would insist after the game that we'd turned the corner
- Dennis Franchione, who would have spoken like Mr Rogers and left town like Oscar Pistorious
Either.
If you wanna say we were a few plays away from 7-8 wins, then you must also say we were a few plays away from 11-1. By that logic, Saban "almost" lost to Auburn the last two times at Jordan Hare, and "almost" lost 3-4 games his final two seasons. I could go on, but the main thing is that he didn't.
The thing about DeBoer is that he is 26-6 (roughly) in 1 score games. That's a great record. At some point, you just gotta recognize that there may be a little skill involved with that, instead of just saying "oh he's gonna lose those eventually". I know you're not necessarily saying that, but I have heard some opposing fans try to say it. And within most of those close games this season, I'm watching them, and while the scoreboard may have been close, those games really never felt in doubt because we'd constantly keep a 1-1.5 score lead. A lot of it has to do with the style we've been playing. We'd prefer to just completely control time of possession, milk the clock, and play anaconda football, which is exactly what we did in a lot of our games this season, and i thought the fact that we did it without a run game was kind of impressive.
Might help with in state recruiting, solid hire, let’s hope he hits the ground running.
Would be cool if he could somehow bring Cam Coleman with him
And Mississippi, too. He was at Ole Miss for around 15 years. Mississippi usually has a few dudes.
Can he start right away? Not being a smart aleck, look who’s coaching the receivers right now, for a playoff game!
From the article..."Coach Kalen DeBoer, a former college receiver, has also assisted in coaching wide receivers in recent practices."
Right…w/a few GAs…that shouldn’t be taking time off of his plate right now…jmho…
Yeah you have a good point, but it's all hands on deck now and you have to do what you think is best. Nobody ever said anything about Coach Saban spending so much time with the DB's. This is the most important game of the year.
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