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Paul Finebaum Describes Alabama Football’s Reputation Under Kalen DeBoer With 1 Word

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | Last updated Feb 20, 2025 4:47 PM ET

For virtually the entirety of the 21st century, there has been one college football program that stood above the rest — The Alabama Crimson Tide.

With six national championships in the last 15 seasons and four Heisman Trophy winners in that time, there has been no team more dominant over the past 20 years than Alabama. However, all of that dominance came when Nick Saban was at the helm. After his retirement a year ago, things changed.

Former Washington Huskies head coach Kalen DeBoer moved down to Tuscaloosa with some big shoes to fill. After one season, he still has some growing to do before he can get Alabam back on the same playing field as his predecessor.

According to ESPN's Paul Finebaum, he needs to do that soon, too, with the perception of Alabama quickly diminishing under his watch.

"He has to get to the playoffs,” Finebaum said, via On3. “I felt going into Year One, it was playoff or bust. I don’t think anything has changed. That is just a description, that doesn’t mean his job changes because he doesn’t make the playoffs. But the perception right now of Alabama football is diminished."

Despite the diminished view from the outside, there were some high moments in DeBoer's first year with the Crimson Tide. Alabama had a huge win over the Georgia Bulldogs early in the year, which Finebaum described as "high as Alabama had been, short of winning a national championship in recent years." However, they followed that up with a loss to Vanderbilt a few weeks later.

"They go down, and they beat LSU in a convincing fashion. Two weeks later, they throw it all away against Oklahoma," Finebaum said.

That last loss to the Sooners is what arguably kept Alabama out of the College Football Playoff, leaving them with a game against Michigan in the ReliaQuest Bowl, which should have been an easy win due to how banged up the Wolverines were at the time. However, Alabama lost, 19-13, in a game that nobody left feeling good about.

"You limp into the off-season with just a miserable feeling that will not go away," Finebaum concluded.

Now, the Crimson Tide are at a tipping point going into the 2025 season. Can DeBoer right the ship quickly and get Alabama back to its dominant ways? Or will he continue to lead a "diminished" version of the program into the future?

That will be one of the central questions of the upcoming season.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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