The win over Auburn in the Iron Bowl gave Alabama HC Kalen DeBoer his first SEC championship game. But the victory also gave the Crimson Tide’s faithful a sigh of relief. One such fan is the coach’s daughter, Alexis, who was beaming with joy with a post-game message.

“Heart is so full :),” Alexi captioned her Instagram story.

Watching the 27-20 nail-biting contest from the stands, Coach DeBoer’s daughters, Avery and Alexis, broke into delightful smiles. Post-game, the duo melted into a loving embrace in their dad’s arms as the heartfelt moment was captured on camera. The win also brought smiles to other Bama fans, since Kalen DeBoer’s future was linked with his game. On November 21, Centre Daily Times’ Jon Sauber dropped a grenade on Tide 100.9’s The Game with Ryan Fowler.

“He’s been one of Penn State’s top targets from the beginning,” he said. “The loss to Oklahoma nudged the door open a little bit. I still think Alabama would have to miss the playoffs to make this a real possibility, which, obviously, would include a loss to Auburn to end the year. He’s been the top target since early on.”

If the Crimson Tide had lost, the noise around the HC’s exit would have been louder. Because the interest was always high. Even the mega contract with Alabama did not change those feelings. Eight years, $10 million this year, rising to nearly $12 million by the end. Moreover, Kalen DeBoer’s contract buyout is approximately $60.8 million as of December 1, 2025.

His contract suggests he should be untouchable, but that was not the case for former PSU TE Adam Breneman made a public plea for DeBoer to switch sides.

“If they don’t appreciate you in Alabama, we’ll take you to Penn State as our head coach. Come to State College. We’ll love you,” the sentiment was evident. But with the win and Bama going for another SEC championship, their first after Nick Saban’s era, it should give fans some much-needed relief.

Kalen DeBoer’s Penn State chatter

Kalen DeBoer‘s Alabama stint has seen its ups and downs. The head coach wrapped up the 2024 season with a decent 9 wins, but the Bama faithful had grown accustomed to bringing back national championship titles, making it hard for them to stomach losses against Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Oklahoma, and Michigan. Fans were frustrated, but his ‘firing’ chants? The situation did not turn out to be that drastic.

However, the 2025 season-opener loss to Florida State certainly had Coach DeBoer surrounded with that noise. But the Tide trudged through that adversity and led an eight-game winning streak. Although the close win against South Carolina nudged that idea forward. Later, the loss to Oklahoma sliced a fresh wound; Alabama had nearly one foot in the playoffs. But Saturday’s Iron Bowl victory against Auburn shut down all the chatter that DeBoer is leaving.

But pundits and analysts remained skeptical. For the most part, except for two wrinkles in DeBoer’s scheme, the head coach had been doing great all season long, and Paul Finebaum’s sharp words conveyed enough.

“I have never heard one ounce of concrete information that indicates Kalen DeBoer is going anywhere,” he said on McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning show.

With the Iron Bowl win on Saturday, Alabama is likely to head towards the playoffs and is focused on the SEC championship.