There’s no other way to put it. Ever since Kalen DeBoer took over Alabama, his seat has always been scorching. It didn’t help going 9-4 last season and missing a CFP berth. That win total? It’s the lowest since Nick Saban’s first year back in 2007. Now, FanDuel Sportsbook’s out there dropping the Tide’s projected win total for 2025 at 8.5. That’s the kind of number that makes fans shake their heads and boosters start whispering. Just when we think things couldn’t get spicier, RJ Young threw a little more gas on the fire on The Number One College Football Show on April 8. The Fox analyst didn’t hold back — he laid it out straight. “I think Kalen DeBoer is going to get it together this year,” he began. “But winning 10 games is going to be asking a lot in a league where LSU expects to be better. Where Texas A&M expects to be better. Where Oklahoma might be better than it was. Where you can’t turn down your nose at Auburn, you can’t turn down your nose at Vanderbilt… South Carolina or Florida. It’s just going to be difficult… I think nine wins might be what’s appropriate for Alabama in 2025. I think the expectation will be that they win the SEC Championship game and they win 10 games. I don’t see that for them this season.” And there are several reasons why a 10-win season is out of the question.
Aug 31, 2024; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Kalen DeBoer watches his team warm up before a game against the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers at Bryant-Denny Stadium. The game will be the first with DeBoer as head coach of the Crimson Tide. Mandatory Credit: Gary Cosby Jr.-USA TODAY Sports
Alabama’s 2025 schedule isn’t a walk in the park. Florida State as the road season opener on August 30. SEC road games against Georgia, Missouri, South Carolina, and Auburn. Four consecutive conference plays. No breather. And the Tide’s roster? They lost 24 players in the portal and only brought back eight. That transfer class? Dead last in the SEC. Sure, Kalen DeBoer’s got the No. 3 recruiting class coming in, but that’s not going to plug every need right away.
Now again, here’s where it gets sticky. Alabama lost its heart — Jalen Milroe, Malachi Moore, Tyler Booker, and Jihaad Campbell — all gone to the draft. So yeah, Kalen DeBoer’s flying this thing with a whole new crew. Plus, there’s a full-blown QB battle going on between Ty Simpson, Keelon Russell, and Austin Mack. No clear-cut starter, no rhythm, no security. Man, it’s a big mess. But wait, it gets worse.
Kalen DeBoer creates safety measures for Ryan Williams
You know that one guy who Bama fans can always count on? That freakishly good freshman Ryan Williams? The one who lit it up last season with 865 yards and eight scores on 48 catches as a 17-year-old? Yep, him. He’s been limited in spring. “We didn’t have Ryan scrimmage today,” Kalen DeBoer said. “Just taking care of him. We know what we have there. He might not do much the rest of the spring, and there’s a couple of nicks and things like that, but if we asked him, he’d be out there and scrimmage, and he’s dressed up and ready to go. But just being really careful with some things he’s going through here the last week or so.”
Let’s be real. That safety blanket is understandable but it’s concerning especially when you’re trying to break in a new QB. That spring timing, that chemistry, it matters. A lot. And now your best offensive weapon is in a bubble wrap while the QBs are trying to build trust. It’s not that Ryan Williams won’t be back in the fall, but in the SEC, every rep matters. And losing the connection is a brutal one for a team still trying to find itself.
So yeah, it’s not panic time yet. But if you’re Kalen DeBoer, you’re feeling the squeeze. The SEC waits for no one. If Alabama stumbles out of the gate, that hot seat might turn into a “fire” real quick.
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