Alabama Journalist Puts Kalen DeBoer’s $825K Staffer on Spot to Share Blame for Unwelcomed Scrutiny

Let’s keep it real: Alabama fans haven’t felt this queasy on a season opener in more than 2 decades. A 23-game streak, gone in one night. Kalen DeBoer’s Year 2 experiment in Tuscaloosa just hit rock bottom in Tallahassee, and the meltdown has folks checking their watches and wondering if this ride’s worth the ticket. A 31–17 loss to unranked Florida State not only snapped a streak dating back to 2001, it also poured gasoline on the bonfire of doubt surrounding DeBoer’s ability to fill Nick Saban’s legendary shoes. And now? The smoke’s drifting straight toward the $825K man behind the curtain: General Manager

Enter: Courtney Morgan. Alabama hasn’t looked this disorganized since the Shula era, and that’s saying something. The No. 8 Tide have now dropped 3 of their last 4, including four losses to unranked opponents in DeBoer’s short 14-game tenure. For context, Saban had the same number of such losses—over 230 games. You feel that? That’s the ground shaking under Tuscaloosa’s sacred standards. The Seminoles bullied the Tide on both sides of the ball, and by the final whistle, the aura of invincibility was cracked wide open.

That’s when journalist Mike Rodak of 247Sports pulled no punches. He cooked DeBoer, sure, but he also lobbed the hot potato at Morgan, Alabama’s general manager pulling $825K a year. “If you’re going to bury DeBoer, defensive coordinator Kane Wommack and others on the coaching staff, it’s only fair to include general manager Courtney Morgan.” Rodak basically argued. And he’s not wrong. Recruiting, transfer portal classes, depth management—that’s Morgan’s turf. You can’t sell the dream of Bama Reloaded if the parts you’re bringing in are rusty before kickoff.

Let’s talk receipts. Alabama’s 2025 transfer portal haul ranked just No. 21 nationally. Compare that to Florida State’s No. 6-ranked class—23 transfers, most of them impact guys—and it’s no wonder the Noles looked deeper, faster, and hungrier. Alabama added 12 transfers, two of them walk-on tight ends, and one already bounced. Out of the ten left, only three saw significant snaps in Tallahassee. Wideout Isaiah Horton had one catch for six yards before hitting the injury tent. Punter Blake Doud? A muffed 38-yarder that made Tide fans cover their eyes. And Texas A&M transfer Kam Dewberry held up okay at left guard but was part of a line that averaged a sad 1.8 yards per rush.

At positions that screamed for help—like defensive tackle after Tim Keenan’s injury—the Tide ended up leaning on freshmen instead of their veteran transfers. Florida transfer Kelby Collins? Buried on the depth chart. Louisiana back Dre Washington? Four snaps. And that’s why Morgan’s under the microscope.

This isn’t the NFL where GMs stay in the booth and eat popcorn while coaches get roasted. College football’s evolving, and when you’re pulling almost a million a year, your fingerprints better be all over success—not failure. Morgan’s credited with building a top-five high school class for 2026, but fans don’t live two years in the future. They live in the now. And right now, Alabama’s portal hit rate looks more like Vanderbilt’s than Alabama’s.

Which brings us to the heart of the matter: DeBoer’s rep just took a gut punch, but Morgan’s silence is deafening. Alabama’s machine runs on recruiting, development, and execution, and if one gear’s off, the whole engine stalls. Rodak’s point is simple—don’t just point fingers at the sideline; look upstairs, too. Because if Alabama’s paying GM money, they deserve GM accountability.

Alabama is calling for a new HC from the SEC, per Mike Rodak

Streaks end—it’s part of the game. But Bama streaks? They used to feel immortal. Not anymore. Under DeBoer’s watch, the Tide failed to win 11 games for the first time in 14 years, failed to win 10 for the first time in 17, and even managed to lose to Vanderbilt for the first time in four decades. Oh, and that 24-year streak of winning season openers? Gone. Add it up, and Alabama fans aren’t just rattled—they’re furious.

Rodak poured more salt in the wound on X (formerly Twitter), sharing an Alabama fan’s wild suggestion on SiriusXM: fire DeBoer, hire Vanderbilt’s Clark Lea. Now, on the surface, that sounds like trading a Cadillac for a Corolla. But look deeper. Lea’s Commodores went from back-to-back 2–10 stinkers to 7–6 last season, including the infamous upset of No. 1 Alabama. That same year, they capped things off with their first bowl win since 2013.

And Lea’s blueprint isn’t smoke and mirrors. The man preaches discipline, development, and stacking small wins until they add up to program-changing seasons. Sound familiar? Yeah—it’s basically the Saban gospel, just on a smaller budget. And while Vanderbilt is no Alabama, the thought of Lea working with Tuscaloosa’s resources is enough to make some fans curious.