An open letter to Alabama Head Coach Kalen DeBoer
Dear Coach DeBoer,
No one is expecting you to be Saban 2.0, but Alabama fans are expecting you to keep greatness rolling. You knew whose shoes you were going to be filling when you accepted the job. No one was expecting the shoes to be a perfect fit, but they were expecting the shoes to be walked in. They were expecting to have a coach that would keep the momentum going… not turn the program upside down. There will never be another Nick Saban. He’s a once in-a-lifetime type of coach. Alabama fans understand this. But when you accepted this job, you did know you were coming behind the greatest coach of all time. You knew what you signed up for.
You still have a chance to turn this around.
You still have a chance to keep Alabama fans’ trust and hope.
You still have a chance to be the head coach Alabama fans and players need and want you to be.
But there are a few things you’re going to have to do in order to accomplish those things:
First, you’re going to have to become a more vocal leader. Start with taking accountability for Saturday’s loss. The buck stops with you. Your team was unprepared for Saturday and that’s on you. You’re the head coach, so it’s literally your job to make sure your team is prepared and ready to go. Your team looked undisciplined and unmotivated. Sure, the players could have done a better job on the field, but at the end of the day, you need to take ownership of their disastrous performance on Saturday. During your post game press conference, you should have verbalized that first before naming a single other name.
Secondly, you’re going to have to become an emotional leader on the sideline. You often look dazed and confused when the cameras pan to you during the game. Your energy and attitude is what players feed off of. The sideline looked dead on Saturday. It’s your job to fix that. Pump your players up. Be fired up on the sidelines. Fans are not expecting you to break headsets like Saban did each game, but seeing you a little bit more fired up on the sideline would go a long way to motivate both players and fans. Get upset when players do the wrong thing. Get upset when you have to take the second timeout of the half during the first quarter. Get upset when your team commits stupid penalties. Be willing to show them emotion. Hold them accountable. Help them strive for greatness, not mediocrity.
And finally, realize that this isn’t the Pac12. This is the SEC. It just means more. It really does.
Alabama fans may seem spoiled, but I don’t think we are. We’re just used to excellence. We’re used to watching a football team play with pride, honor, dignity, and passion. We’re used to watching numerous players be drafted in the first round of the NFL draft. We’re used to expecting our team to make it to the playoffs. We’re used to winning.
We understand a 9-4 season last season. It was your first season. There’s grace for that. No one denies it takes time for a team to adjust to change…both in leadership and how things are done. But to start your second season with a humiliating 31-17 loss to Florida State is another issue. You start to lose the trust of Alabama fans. And when you lose it, it’s hard to regain. Just ask Mike Shula.
You can still turn things around Coach DeBoer. There are still plenty of Alabama fans who believe in you. Fans who believe that you can make Alabama football what it used to be. Not just a football program, but a standard of excellence that teams all over the country respect and fear.
To quote the GOAT himself, “Recognize certain traits that seem to be in every champion: passion, commitment, confidence, pride in performance, high standards of excellence, relentlessness, perseverance, and the ability to perform in adverse circumstances.” - Nick Saban
It’s up to you though. The choice is yours. You can either pack your bags, or you can embrace expectations and make changes. You can either give up, or you can rise up to the challenge. Just know that regardless of your decision, Alabama fans won’t give up on expecting excellence. It’s just who we are. It’s who we always have been. And it’s who we always will be. It’s the ALABAMA way.
Roll Tide,
Hannah Stephens