Call Alabama’s latest coaching departure an opportunity or disaster management. But people are reading every move as a signal as every departure gets magnified. This is what Kalen DeBoer signed up for coaching in the longest shadow in college football as he enters his third year as the Tide head coach. To make matters worse, he’s entering the 2026 season with a grim prognosis about survival. And it didn’t help as one of his staffers is moving on from the SEC powerhouse he runs to a Group of Five program. 

Kalen DeBoer is losing an assistant to a G5 role under Scott Abell. According to FootballScoop, Rice is finalizing a deal to hire Tevin Madison. He joined Alabama last March as a defensive analyst, but internally he was more than that. Per sources, he was actively involved with the secondary, somehow functioning as an assistant DBs coach. 

As for Rice, they’re coming off a 5-win first season in 2025 and with Scott Abell adding Tevin Madison as his CBs coach, it’s another huge win. Rice reached the postseason because there weren’t enough bowl-eligible teams. But the school managed to capitalize on it and he’s been aggressive about staffing since arriving from Davidson, and this is another step in that direction

Tevin Madison’s resume plays well for that kind of rebuild. He’s an Alabama native with three years as a player at Texas Tech and his final season at West Alabama. He had Big 12 coaching experience at Kansas State, plus FCS stops at Illinois State and Southeast Missouri State.

Alabama returned to the CFP during his time there, Kalen DeBoer’s first CFP appearance with the program and Tevin Madison’s role wasn’t ceremonial. But losing him to a G5 program tells a lot about where the Tide are headed. But right now, this new coaching development isn’t the only concern over his shoulders. It’s perception stacking on top of context. 

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Nick Saban is still a walking legend in Alabama and Kalen DeBoer will never be evaluated cleanly. Everything he does gets compared to what his predecessor would’ve done with the same situation. And this is where his reality gets complicated as he enters a do-or-die season.

Kalen DeBoer faces a rough verdict for 2026

Kalen DeBoer’s first team, heavy with Saban-era leftovers, went 9-4 in 2024 and lost its bowl. The second team improved to an 11-4 record and made the CFP, but run game issues were obvious. Georgia crushed them in the SEC title game while Indiana embarrassed them in the Rose Bowl 38-3. But 2026 won’t be forgiving and it doesn’t help that they’ll be having a first-year starting QB, whether it’s Keelon Russell or Austin Mack. 

Alabama is set to face SEC threats like Georgia, Tennessee, LSU, Auburn, and Texas A&M. The Tide has a run game that can’t realistically get worse but hasn’t shown signs of getting better either as the defense enters carrying more weight than it should. They finished 119th nationally at just about 111.89 yards per game and 3.5 a carry, the worst rushing averages this program has ever put up. Will 2026 be any different?

Which brings us back to staff losses like Tevin Madison’s. Why are they leaving? You can rationalize them individually with career advancement, better title, and a clearer path. But taken together, they feed a broader sense that Kalen DeBoer is still trying to gain traction internally and externally.