Alabama’s loss to Oklahoma this past season remains hard to overlook. However, despite missing the College Football Playoff in his debut year, head coach Kalen DeBoer “actually handled (Year 1) properly from a strategic standpoint,” according to college football analyst Josh Pate.
Pate wasn’t overly generous in his evaluation, assigning DeBoer and the Crimson Tide a C+ grade for the season—far from a mark of success. Still, Pate acknowledged that the 2024-25 season presented unique challenges.
From the moment DeBoer arrived on campus, he faced significant hurdles. The transfer portal was a one-way street, with players exiting the program but no new talent coming in. Pate argued that DeBoer couldn’t even conduct spring practice as he wanted, fearing additional departures with no way to replace them.
“2025 will be unequivocally his way,” Pate said. “They have bought in. It’s his team.”
Pate also compared DeBoer’s first season to Nick Saban’s final year, noting similarities in performance. He highlighted that 10 of Saban’s 14 games in 2023 were decided by one score in the fourth quarter, including four against unranked opponents.
“There wasn’t that big a drop-off performance-wise, efficiency-wise,” Pate said. “I think they will bounce back pretty effectively.”
