During a recent interview, Alabama Crimson Tide coach Kalen DeBoer refused to confirm his return to his current college football program for the next season. On Monday, Dec. 15, college football reporter Justin Smith posted a video on his X/Twitter account, showing DeBoer at a press conference ahead of this year’s college football playoffs. He was asked about his possible extension with the Alabama-based program.
DeBoer said he was not yet in talks with other teams for a potential head coaching role, but he also did not assert that he will be back with the Crimson Tide.
Kalen DeBoer asked will he be Alabama’s head coach next season.
“Haven’t talked with anyone, no plans of talking with anyone.” pic.twitter.com/ON7IQfjq7M
— Justin Smith (@Jdsmith31Smith) December 15, 2025
Fans online, who believe DeBoer is leaving Alabama, started speculating and reacting to his comments
“He gone,” one user claimed.
“That wasn’t a, ‘yes,'” another user pointed out.
“Still didn’t say he wasn’t leaving 😂,” another said with a laughing emoji.
“Lol, 😂 notice he never says, yes, I will be the head coach of Alabama next year. He very well will be, but why he just doesn’t say it directly is a bit odd. Saying nice things about the program is a no-brainer if his agent is in fact talking to another team and seeing if it’s the right opportunity to leave for without burning his bridges if it isn’t,” a user wrote with an emoji.
Here are a few other reactions:
“Sorry, I missed the part where he said, ‘I will be the head coach at Alabama in 2026!’ Can you tell me the timestamp for that, just missed it, I think,” one fan shared.
“He said the same things in Seattle before he left for Bama,” another user posted.
“He said these same words at Washington lmao 🤣,” a user asserted.
For now, it is presumed that coach DeBoer’s primary focus is on the 2025 collegiate football postseason. Alabama’s run starts in the first round against coach Brent Venables’ Oklahoma Sooners on Friday, Dec. 19, at Memorial Stadium in Norman, Oklahoma. DeBoer led the Crimson Tide to an overall record of 10-3 (7-1 SEC) to qualify for the playoffs.
Read More: Kalen DeBoer’s Weaknesses Exposed as SEC Team Tipped to Race to Victory
Kalen DeBoer Is Extremely Proud Of His Players For Not Getting Distracted With Off-Field Matters
At the same press conference, Kalen DeBoer spoke about his players, commending them for not letting matters outside of the football field distract them.
“ Our guys, if there’s been any distraction, I haven’t seen it, haven’t felt it, and so I’m really proud of the way they’ve handled whatever noise is out there. And again, we’ve probably all season long, have dealt with enough noise to where it would, it doesn’t surprise me on how they handle this,” DeBoer shared. (0:48)
