It was a super inconsistent season for Kalen DeBoer in Alabama after taking over the reins from Nick Saban in 2024. This season was something that he and Alabama fans would want to forget, as the bar was quite high, and DeBoer failed to deliver on the expectations.
The program went 9-4 for the first time since 2007, when Saban initially took charge of the Crimson Tide. ESPN college football analyst Greg McElroy recently evaluated all these factors and graded the SEC giant’s run in the 2024 season
Greg McElroy Grades Kalen DeBoer’s First Season at Alabama
During Saban’s tenure, Alabama maintained a steady average of 10+ wins each year. It was a huge drop in the overall performance of the program. Several factors contributed to it; however, experts and fans like to believe that it was all DeBoer’s fault.
Since he is the face of the program, questions will be raised about him, and rightly so. The season was filled with many inconsistencies.
The ups and downs hurt the most, and it eventually cost the program a College Football Playoff ticket. As a result, Alabama had to settle for a ReliaQuest Bowl game against the Michigan Wolverines.
“There were some challenges, some adjustments, some roster tinkering that were very difficult,” McElroy said on his podcast this week.
“I think that they were remarkably inconsistent from start to finish, almost on a week-to-week basis. You’d watch him, you’d say, ‘Wow, that that’s the way it’s supposed to look.’ And then you’d watch and be like, ‘My goodness, what was that?’ There were levels of inconsistency that were really hard to wrap your head around.”
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McElroy added, “… It was just constantly a roller coaster, and that is something that is going to be very important for the staff to try to iron out as they continue to move forward. I do think the bowl loss was one that is more difficult to get over than I think a lot of people are probably giving it credit.
“I also think you need to look at the penalties. I need to look at the amount of scrutiny that this team is, naturally, always going to receive. But overall, Year 1 grade for Kalen DeBoer, I’m giving him a B-.”
So far, about 24 players from Alabama have hit the transfer portal, and DeBoer was able to bring back only eight of them. Next season, he will look to buckle up and improve upon the record with more talented recruits, as Alabama currently has the No. 2 class nationwide.
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