Going into the 2025-26 season, Ty Simpson’s Alabama wasn’t touted as a good team. The end of the Nick Saban era and Kalen DeBoer being the new head coach was seen as a massive letdown for the program.
Although they lost three games, Alabama is going to play its first-round playoff game against Oklahoma on Friday. There’s a lot of pressure on the Crimson Tide to win the matchup against the Sooners.
Earlier this week, the Alabama fanbase felt the shockwaves from rumors around Simpson. It was being reported that the quarterback was dealing with a back injury. Many wondered what would happen to the team if he ended up sitting out.
Fortunately, those were just rumors as Simpson practised with the team on Monday and wasn’t featured on the injury report on Tuesday and Wednesday.
“I’m great,” SIMPSON SAID MONDAY. “I’m excited. It’s a great opportunity to play in the College Football Playoff. At this point in the season, I don’t know a team who is healthy at all, so fire me up. I’m ready to go.”
Earlier, he had talked about how players’ health gets affected toward the end of the season. After regular games and workouts, it’s understandable that players become more prone to injuries than at the beginning of the season.
Despite that, Simpson is healthy and is ready to play against Oklahoma. While it’s still possible that he might be dealing with some physical discomfort, as of now, there’s no clear sign of a serious injury or something that can keep him away from the field.
The bigger problem in Alabama as of now is the pressure that coach Kalen DeBoer is facing.
Kalen DeBoer Will be On the Hot Seat
When DeBoer joined the Crimson Tide, he was stepping in after the program had witnessed its glory days under Saban. Every year, they were championship contenders, and Saban instilled genuine fear in his opponents.
With the expectations set so high, it was nearly impossible for DeBoer to be able to live up to the standards. Still, he tried his best and has taken his team to the postseason. But that’s not going to be enough.
“We’ve seen now in two years, DeBoer has lost three games in both of those seasons,” Tom Fornelli SAID. “So, I believe him when he says he’s staying in Alabama and he’s not interested in the Michigan job. I think that whatever the result is on Friday night at Oklahoma, if Alabama loses to the Sooners to finish 9-4, he’s gonna go into 2026 on a hot seat.”
“If Alabama loses to the Sooners, [Kalen DeBoer] is going into 2026 on the hot seat.”@TomFornelli pic.twitter.com/3Y3l9qWCFe
— CBS Sports College Football 🏈 (@CBSSportsCFB) December 18, 2025
Fornelli believes that even if Alabama ends up defeating Oklahoma and loses to Indiana, DeBoer will face criticism. Despite doing everything right, if he can’t secure the national championship, he will be criticized.
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