Kalen DeBoer is already taking drastic steps to fix a persistent problem that plagued even the great Nick Saban in his final years at Alabama. Alabama is reportedly bringing in Richard Owens, officially as the TEs coach. But there’s something else brewing underneath this hire. The former Louisville coach has spent most of his coaching career on the offensive line. The Tide already hired an OL coach in Adrian Klemm to replace Chris Kapilovic, making Owens’ hiring reports confusing. But wait till you hear their plan. 

“I heard rumors about a month ago that they might have two offensive line coaches,” Aaron Suttles said on The Next Round’s Bama and Bourbon. “So I don’t know, especially an inline tight end, they’re very instrumental in the blocking plan up front. So it could be a situation where you got multiple eyes because I think they recognize they got to fix this run game to get where they want to go.”

For a program that built its identity on defense and running the ball, the run game flatlined in 2025, with 104 rushing yards per game, which isn’t Alabama football. That’s what it was last season, ranking 15th in the SEC, averaging 3.35 yards per carry, but Suttles also made an interesting point that this has been an ongoing issue.

“The offensive line being able to run the football has not been good,” he added. “And I don’t think it’s just a Ryan Grubb, Kalen DeBoer problem. Cause I don’t think it was quite frankly, I don’t think it was good in the last couple of years of Nick Saban.”

If Kalen DeBoer is trying to flip the script, now is a great time. Richard Owens has been Louisville’s OL coach for the past three seasons. In 2024, his group allowed just 1.15 sacks and 4.23 tackles for loss per game while rushing for 185.2 yards. The Cardinals went top-20 nationally in protection metrics while earning multiple All-ACC honorable mentions. 

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Last season started on a bad note for Louisville, with 7.2 tackles for loss and 2.8 sacks allowed per game over the first five FBS contests. They were rushing for just 93 yards before it flipped. In the final seven games, they had 205.3 rushing yards per game while sacks cut nearly in half. That performance can now be paired with the expertise of Adrian Klemm, who comes with NFL experience. He also recruited at Oregon and helped land Josh Conerly Jr., who turned into a first-rounder in 2025. That development plus recruiting credibility profile is what Kalen DeBoer is targeting.

Can Kalen DeBoer restore Alabama’s offensive line strength?

It wasn’t that long ago Alabama won the Joe Moore Award twice in a decade. Nick Saban’s 2020 team won it and a national title in the same year. This past season isn’t comparable, as few observers called the O-line a strength in 2025. Now, to be fair, the Tide weren’t the worst pass-protecting unit in the SEC. According to Pro Football Focus, South Carolina, Texas, and Vanderbilt allowed more pressures.

Alabama’s front in 2026 is basically a reset with six of seven starters gone. A wave of transfers is incoming, featuring Jayvin James, Ty Haywood, Nick Brooks, and Ethan Fields, among others. It’s an intriguing group, but still unproven.

Two-line coaches might sound drastic, but the staff clearly believes the fix has to start up front. Kalen DeBoer didn’t dance around it at the Senior Bowl.

“It’s about production,” he said. “We know we’ve got to be better there. Mindset. Execution. The details of the fundamentals the guys need.”

As Suttles said, “You’ve got to have an offensive line, because look, if a defense only has to respect your ability to throw the football, it makes it so much easier to make them defend both. Like we just saw what the Seattle Seahawks did to the Patriots. You make a team one-dimensional, it’s over.” 

Carrying two offensive line coaches won’t guarantee anything. Staff structure doesn’t automatically create push at the point of attack, but it shows that Kalen DeBoer understands the job.