Kalen DeBoer’s been coming on strong in college football headlines lately, and it’s not necessarily that he’s Alabama’s head coach; it’s that he’s beginning to leave his mark on the program in a significant way. To boot, they have added DeBoer to the 2025 Dodd Trophy preseason watch list, a high honors coaching award that Alabama fans have come to know well courtesy of the Nick Saban years. But even with all the good, there’s a feeling that the pressure is just beginning to build. CBS Sports recently placed DeBoer’s “hot seat” rating at 2.33. Which is to say he’s “all good…for now,” but the expectations are stratospheric, and everybody knows it.

Succeeding Nick Saban is like entering a theater where the previous performance was a legend, every step observed, every outcome analyzed. Kalen DeBoer had a good inaugural year, but not great: 9-4, which for many programs would be a victory, but at Alabama is merely ‘okay.’ Fans and media parse each decision made by Nick Saban’s long shadow. He admits to the pressure. But here’s the best part: DeBoer doesn’t candy-coat the grind.

During the Sanford Sports night, Kalen DeBoer speaks candidly about the bitter truth as he assumed the Alabama reins. “The timing of everything happening in the middle of January last year was one of the hardest things I’ve ever been a part of,” Deboer says during the press conference. “That was intense because you’re trying to keep a roster and a portal open for your guys to go and leave. But I think that my experiences and then just knowing how hard it is, have certainly helped set it up to where I felt prepared and ready to go.” DeBoer arrived from the West Coast, where he’d constructed winners at Washington and Fresno State, but nothing could’ve really gotten him ready for the SEC grind and the pressure at Alabama.

DeBoer continues, “I think that again, you go back to the things that prepared you for that. It’s on a different level, but when we were at Sioux Falls, everyone gave us their best shot.” It’s not just a coach speaking; it’s the reality he learned the hard way, as the Tide struggled in games they were supposed to win, including a stunning loss to Vanderbilt. The first in 40 years. That loss happened shortly after a signature victory over Georgia, and it was a body blow that highlighted just how quickly the script can turn in Tuscaloosa. The reality check didn’t end there. Later in the season, after a dominating win at LSU, Alabama had a lackluster, lifeless effort against Oklahoma and lost 24-3.

For fans accustomed to Saban’s teams, which never lost to unranked teams and always appeared invincible, witnessing Alabama appear unready was disconcerting. It’s not X’s and O’s. Kalen DeBoer has been candid about the emotional cost. The grind of having to live up to the legend that is what came before, the stress from fans that anticipate greatness every season, and the fact that at Alabama, a 9-4 season constitutes a disappointment, not a success. The change wasn’t only about football; it was about culture, about understanding that detail is everything, and every week is a fight. But rather than retreating from the test, he has gone headfirst into it. He has spoken of continuity, of creating something that will last, and of not getting blindsided again. Those are the lessons he brings with him from Sioux Falls to Tuscaloosa.

Ty Simpson’s leadership under the microscope

During the Sanford Sports Night, Kalen DeBoer caused some commotion with an intriguing comment about Ty Simpson. DeBoer, in a conversation with ESPN Sioux Falls, was undoubtedly positive about Simpson. He did recognize the veteran’s experience and development, but he didn’t bestow glowing praise on him. He made it well known that Simpson is the top dog: “We’ve made it known that if we played a game at the end of this spring — even right now, because it really wouldn’t change — we would have Ty as our quarterback. But they’re all competing for the spot.”

That’s a simple enough endorsement, but Kalen DeBoer continued. He drove home the point that the competition is far from over, and he expects the three quarterbacks—Simpson, Austin Mack, and redshirt freshman Keelon Russell—to continue pushing one another. The message? Simpson may be the man for the moment, but they haven’t etched things in stone. What got everyone’s attention was how DeBoer discussed Simpson’s preparedness. He complimented Simpson’s spring game play and leadership but indicated that where the quarterbacks currently are isn’t good enough to where they have to be in order to achieve the success they desire as a football team.

It’s a gentle prod, a reminder that at Alabama, being the best on the team isn’t sufficient. You need to be good enough to win national championships. For Simpson, a former Nick Saban recruit, it’s a different type of pressure. Kalen DeBoer’s philosophy is less about naming a star and more about fueling competition, making everyone feel uncomfortable. It’s a classic play for a coach attempting to elevate the standard in the post-Saban era.