Five massive statues stand on the west side of Champions Boulevard leading to Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, honoring Alabama’s national championship-winning head coaches. They have victories in common, but also something else: Neither of them took long to win the championship. Wallace Wade, Gene Stallings and Nick Saban won titles in their third seasons, and Bear Bryant and Frank Thomas won titles in their fourths.
Kalen DeBoer, in his second season as Alabama’s head coach, could beat them in the next few weeks…or he could be in the thick of things within 72 hours. These are the highs and lows that await every Alabama head coach.
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After missing out on the inaugural 12-team playoffs a year ago, DeBoer and Alabama limped into this year’s playoffs and faced Oklahoma State in Friday night’s CFP opener. DeBoer hasn’t even played two full seasons at Alabama and he’s already fostering a blood feud at Oklahoma State, which has beaten the Tide as underdogs in two consecutive games. A third loss to Oklahoma State — which would mean a fourth loss in a season for the second straight year — and DeBoer’s tenure in Tuscaloosa will be one of the most fascinating topics of the offseason.
To understand the challenge DeBoer faces, it’s necessary to understand the ridiculously high standards Alabama holds its coaches to. Put it this way: If you were naming a Mount Rushmore of college football head coaches, you’d start with the two head coaches at Alabama and then start looking at the other two. That is the Tuscaloosa standard.
Historically, when the stars and the polls align, the Alabama head coaching job is both the pinnacle and the end of a career. If you win a national championship at Alabama – that’s baseline Expectations – That’s where you tend to end your coaching career as well.
Four of Alabama’s five most respected coaches ended their careers at the school. Thomas and Stallings retired. Bryant died just weeks after his last game, and Saban now sits next to Pat McAfee every Saturday. Only Wade — Alabama’s first national championship coach, who led Alabama to a tradition-defining Rose Bowl in 1926 — left Tuscaloosa to coach at another institution. His story is most interesting in the current context.
Karen DeBoer compiled a 19-7 record in two seasons at the University of Alabama. In most places, that’s enough, but not most places in Alabama. (Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
(Icon Sports Wire via Getty Images)
See if this sounds familiar: Wade won national championships during the 1925 and 1926 seasons, and he left Tuscaloosa disgusted by the ridiculous expectations of Alabama supporters in the years following those victories. His crime? Posted 6-3 consecutive seasons. (Wade resigned before the 1930 season, then produced one of the greatest kiss-offs in college football history, going 10-0 in 1930, winning a third national championship, and then immediately committing to Duke.) Exactly a century later, at Alabama, the story hasn’t changed, only the man with the whistle (or headset) has.
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The expectations of Alabama fans prompted Bryant to flirt with the Miami Dolphins after four seasons without a championship. After just three games, there were calls for Stallings to be executed. Saban almost headed to Texas in the early 2010s. (Saban’s wife, Terry, fired a memorable shot at Alabama supporters in a November 2013 interview with the Wall Street Journal: “You come to a crossroads where the expectations get so big and people get spoiled by success and a lack of gratitude begins,” she said. “We’re there now.”)
Those coaches are idols and legends; national championship winner. What chance does Kalen DeBoer have— anyonereally—is that a violation of that standard?
The past Alabama coach most similar to DeBoer’s situation doesn’t have a statue. Look at the Dark Ages – post-Bear, pre-Saban, “only” one championship in 24 years – Bill Curry and Dennis Franchione among names like Ray Perkins and the Mack family – DuBose, Price and Shula. Neither man had any ties to the Tide before coming to Alabama. Both won seven games in their first seasons at Alabama and 10 games in their final seasons. But the two went 1-4 against Auburn … and both left for other jobs — Curry to Kentucky three years later and Franchione to Texas A&M two years later.
It’s no secret that Alabama coaches are meat grinders. There’s a reason DeBoer’s name comes up in connection with jobs at Penn State and Michigan — and probably some other jobs that have received national attention. Every head coaching job in the Power 4 is extremely difficult…but not everyone has championship expectations or you’re going to fall short.
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So, yes, while DeBoer has the support of AD Greg Byrne and the college establishment, his seven losses — four of them to unranked opponents — have worn out the patience of those on the edge of Alabama. A third loss to Oklahoma State, an early playoff exit, another mediocre performance in a big game, another four-game losing streak… the fringe will become mainstream. This is what happens in projects where statues are the standard.
