Karen DeBoer, let’s see what you can do. It’s time. For some Alabama fans, this was beyond time.
What must quarterback guru Alabama think it’s getting when it hires DeBoer from Washington? Was what DeBoer and his right-hand man Ryan Grubb did to Michael Penix Jr. just a mirage?
advertise
Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson is headed to the NFL after a pretty good but far from elite season as DeBoer’s starter. Simpson was as tough as a steak grilled under a hot lamp on the buffet line, playing behind a porous offensive line and running the offense with a non-existent run attack. He tried his best. This is my epitaph for the Simpson era.
Simpson’s roots stretch back to the Nick Saban era and to Alabama’s 2022 roster. Saban’s remaining numbers continue to dwindle in DeBoer’s scheme.
I’m still waiting for the apparent quarterback mastermind who developed Penix in Washington to show up in Tuscaloosa.
DeBoer and his offensive coordinator Grubb worked well with Simpson. He’s not Penix. No Bryce Young. No Mac Jones. No Tua Tagovailoa.
advertise
Maybe that’s an unfair standard for anyone, but that’s DeBoer’s job. This has become the standard in Alabama. By the end of the Saban era, few programs were developing quarterbacks like Alabama.
If DeBoer isn’t going to field the ferocious defense that Saban once did — and there’s no evidence that he will — then he and Grubb need to prove they’re the offensive aces.
The clock is ticking. Ask some of Paul Finebaum’s callers and they’ll tell you they’re tired of waiting.
Alabama quarterback competition turns to Kalon DeBoer’s players
But let’s wait a moment before Finebaum’s caller convinces us that DeBoer is a fired coach-in-waiting. Wait and see what DeBoer will do with one of his guys.
advertise
Five-star prospect Kieron Russell, who signed with DeBoer a year ago, must now be taken seriously as a rising redshirt freshman in Alabama’s quarterback competition. Austin Mack followed DeBoer from Washington and looks to be a major contender as well. He showed some promise in the second half of the Rose Bowl game.
Alabama can’t rest on its laurels. Need to produce.
Whoever wins the job will be a DeBoer through and through. The coach’s reputation is at stake. The success, or lack thereof, of Alabama’s next quarterback will be a key indicator of DeBoer’s future.
The goodwill he built by beating Oklahoma in the College Football Playoff opener was gone by halftime of the Rose Bowl.
advertise
If he’s not going to build a Saban-like defense, he’d be better off building an offense and developing a quarterback and Lane Kiffin.
DeBoer’s final offense in Washington ranked 12th nationally and took full advantage of a Pac-12 defense. His offense this season at Alabama? Ranked 84th nationally. Indiana hit it hard.
This won’t make any difference in T-town.
Even Saban has attacked his successor.
“I hope they can get this ship going in the right direction,” Saban said on ESPN. “It’s not bad to make the playoffs and get to the last eight, but that’s not the expectation here and it’s hard to achieve sometimes.”
advertise
So, you said you wanted to coach Alabama, right?
Saban began by praising DeBoer before criticizing him, noting that he had a lot of attrition to overcome after being hired. It’s cute, but you don’t need a thermometer to tell you that the mercury is rising around DeBoer as he enters third grade.
Nothing lowers the heat like a star quarterback.
[ This column first published in our SEC Unfiltered newsletter, emailed free to your inbox. Want more commentary like this? Sign up here for our newsletter on SEC sports. ]
Kieron Russell, Austin Mack expected to be Alabama quarterbacks
Russell is an inexperienced but highly touted quarterback that DeBoer has. As a freshman, he played in just two games.
advertise
Mack is the player who has thrown the ball 35 times in his career.
If he questions whether any of these guys have the potential to be elite, DeBoer must hit the transfer market with a boatload of cash. Now is not the time to play the long game of quarterback development.
If he’s going to coach Alabama like Saban did, or even coach like Gene Stallings, he needs a Shark next season, not a program.
DeBoer can’t raise Jalen Milroe’s standards. He fared better under Simpson, but Alabama fans must wonder if he will produce another quarterback as good as the one he coached in Washington.
advertise
There is no more time to waste.
Blake Topppmeyer is the senior national college football columnist for the USA TODAY Network. Email him at BTopppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on @btopmeyer.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Clock ticks for Alabama’s Kallen DeBoer as Ty Simpson heads to NFL draft