Paul Finebaum expects seriously stellar results from Kalen DeBoer in his second year, something he is rooting for despite the letdown performance in year one, per the Alabama Crimson Tide football program’s standards.
DeBoer has to deliver, or he might be, in a wild possibility, find a spot on the hot seat.
“Alabama fans always think they’re going to win, but this year they seem to have reason to believe it. While a lot of people want to write Alabama off because of last year’s shortcomings, I tend to agree with you. I’m expecting a big season,” Finebaum stated on the Paul Finebaum Show.
Based on the updates coming in from Tuscaloosa, especially surrounding the nation’s hottest QB battle between Ty Simpson and Keelon Russell, the SEC analyst sees the Tide having a decent, playoff-worthy two-loss season in 2025.
“To me, it looks like 10-2. I think the dangerous games are very obviously Georgia and LSU. Georgia in Athens and LSU at home, I think, are the two trickiest games of the year. I think the other games that make me a little uncomfortable, not totally, I think South Carolina on the road and Auburn on the road,” Finebaum said.
If DeBoer wins most or all of these games, he automatically becomes the hero Crimson Tide fans have been waiting for since Nick Saban’s departure.
The fewer the losses DeBoer has in the regular season, the better his reputation will hold up amongst the Alabama fans in the end. And that comes with a College Football Playoff spot expectations without saying.
What’s more interesting is Finebaum’s flip in his opinion on DeBoer after trashing him for the whole of 2024, and even in 2025.
Finebaum’s change of heart comes with a caveat, though. If the Tide head coach can’t give the Crimson Tide fans what they want, he could end up on the hot seat.
“The pressure is always at Alabama. I don’t think that’s saying a great deal,” Finebaum stated, explaining how another mediocre season will paint DeBoer as a failure.
That said, the Alabama head coach looks calmly confident in what he has built in one season amid all the noise.
We’ll see how that confidence pans out this season.