Boy, Nick Saban really did hand over the Alabama keys to the wrong person. Kalen DeBoer, despite a sterling record, hasn’t done what Alabama powerhouse fans expected. His team finished 9-4 last season and missed the College Football Playoff, something unimaginable during Saban’s reign. The 2025 season kickoff was a punch to the gut. It was a 31-17 drubbing at the hands of Florida State, a team that not long ago was a basement dweller with a 2-10 record. They managed a mere 87 rushing yards and failed to contain Florida State’s quarterback Tommy Castellanos.

And it’s not just a fan thing. Former Alabama players who starred under Nick Saban would quietly admit the same if they could. But here’s where it gets interesting. Barstool Sports personalities Brandon Walker and Kayce Smith didn’t hold back when they brought Mark Ingram II, former Alabama star and Heisman Trophy winner, into the conversation. Ingram’s performance under Saban was nothing short of legendary. In the 2009 SEC Championship game against Florida was iconic, running for 113 yards and scoring three touchdowns, all while sealing a dominant win over Tim Tebow’s Gators.

But it all started during last week’s Big Noon Kickoff, where Brandon Walker couldn’t resist teasing Mark Ingram about the current state of Alabama football. “When Brandon threw that out at him,” Kayce said on the Unnecessary Roughness podcast. “You could just feel it for like the few seconds that he paused. We could all feel it sitting on that set like he wants to agree with him so bad, but he knows he can’t.” Yet beneath that banter was a shared understanding. “I will not give away any information, but there was a private conversation after the show,” Brandon said. Ingram couldn’t exactly say it out loud, but deep down, he knows Walker’s right.

The point remains the same, as Brandon puts it, “Kalen DeBoer is absolutely not a top-five coach.” See, the SEC isn’t the Pac-12. And there’s a brutal school of SEC hard knocks that DeBoer hasn’t quite passed yet. Nick Saban never lost a season opener; he was a perfect 17-0. His teams were sharp, ruthless, and ready to pounce from the get-go. DeBoer’s squad? Soft, slow, disorganized, and sometimes even embarrassing. In the FSU game, Alabama was banged up on the field and mentally outplayed off it, giving up 230 rushing yards and four touchdowns to Castellanos. The thing is, it’s not just about this season’s W-L record; it’s about the culture and toughness DeBoer hasn’t instilled.

And former Bama’s like Ingram know this, you know why? “Because they’re Saban’s guys,” as the other host of the conversation would say. “Every former Saban player out there will not say it publicly because they want to support the school. But they are fu—ng disgusted with what they are witnessing on Saturday. And they’re all growling into one another about [how] this would have never happened when we were there.” Alabama insiders say what DeBoer believed about his offensive masteries isn’t enough here. His 14 games at Alabama have more embarrassing losses than Saban’s 17 seasons combined. But Kayce puts out the gruelling feeling of the Bama players very blatantly.

“I would love a real, like, truth serum of all the Alabama guys that are on national TV,” she said. Alabama legend AJ McCarron didn’t hold back when putting Kalen DeBoer’s team on blast after that ugly loss to Florida State. McCarron called out the team’s “strange vibe,” describing a lack of excitement and energy on the field. McCarron pointed to deeper issues on offense. Alabama’s offense looked anemic and disjointed, with key players like wide receiver Ryan Williams drawing fire for poor route running and lack of effort. McCarron said Williams “ran too high” on his routes and looked slow, which hurt the team’s rhythm. But beyond just performance, McCarron also sounded the alarm on Alabama falling behind in the NIL race. He revealed the Tide’s NIL budget is less than $20 million, significantly trailing rivals who spend upwards of $40-50 million. That matters for recruiting and player retention.

See, Alabama’s reputation has been its recruiting glue since Saban’s era. But if losses pile up and NIL budgets don’t keep pace, Alabama may not be the powerhouse program it used to be.

Cut Kalen DeBoer some slack

Alabama’s season-opening loss to Florida State sent shockwaves through college football. And that’s when the chatter about Kalen DeBoer’s hot seat got louder than ever. But former Tide QB AJ McCarron, a three-time national champ and fan favorite, stepped up to cool down the flames. McCarron didn’t sugarcoat the situation. Alabama is definitely struggling, that’s for sure. But, he insisted that fans can’t put all the blame on DeBoer.

“My biggest thing with Alabama fans right now is you can’t put everything on Coach DeBoer,” McCarron said on ‘The Coach JB Show’. “He’s a great man. But you knew his demeanor when you hired him. He’s relaxed. He’s night and day from Saban. We’ve just got to get the kids playing with the commitment to excellence and the standard that was set back when I was there.” See, the university knew exactly what type of coach they were hiring when he snatched DeBoer away from Washington in early 2024.

Unlike the fiery, relentless Nick Saban, DeBoer’s approach is more relaxed. And that’s part of the adjustment Birmingham is still navigating. The bigger issue, McCarron explained, is the players themselves. The Tide’s commitment to the ironclad standards set back in Saban’s era is missing. McCarron didn’t buy the excuse that the competition level matters either. Whether Alabama faces powerhouses or underdogs like Louisiana-Monroe, the issue isn’t who they play, but how they execute.