re: Explain the Harsin comparisons to DeBoer with logic.

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Ok, do you think he will have better or worse talent while at Alabama? If he is able to do that much with less talent, why would anyone expect him to do worse with more talent?

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because there simply isn’t enough data on which to base a firm conclusion.

the guy has done pretty well, but he’s 49 years old and has exactly 3 years coaching experience at the P5 level, and has never been at the same school through an entire 4-year recruiting cycle.

i feel fairly confident that, if i had asked you a year ago who you considered the top 10 HCs in CFB, he would not have been on your list. as such, you are basing your positive assessment on a single year’s performance. i’m sure Oregon fans were thrilled with Mark Helfrich after his second season as HC too.

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I'm not a time traveler, so maybe he ends up sucking. But I certainly don't see anything that foreshadows it

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fair enough, but as you are well aware “sucking” at Bama has completely different implications. i would hazard a guess that if he goes 9-3 and misses the playoffs his first year the number of major contributors to Bama football calling for his head will be greater than zero.

and while there’s nothing to indicate that he’s will “suck” at Bama by any definition, neither is there any evidence that he can build and sustain a program to consistently compete for conference and national championships, because he’s never done so at a level that involves scholarshipped players.

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I've been an Alabama fan for half a century. The expectations have never changed. I know what bad years look like, still the same expectation even if it's obviously far from reach.

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and those expectations have spelled disaster for other men who’ve held the job before - most of whom came in with far more major college experience than DeBoer.

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And it can't be much worse than replacing Bear, or going through the early 2000's. The bigger worry is probably boosters being stupid again.

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and thats a significant worry, considering the massive expense they have taken on ($12 million buyout to UW + whatever terms promised to DeBoer to get him to jump ship), those boosters will have far less patience for even temporary mediocrity.

as i said, you seem to know a great deal about CFB HC quality. but i’m sure that your assessment of DeBoer’s suitability for the job is based in large part on unfounded optimism. we’ll see if it’s warranted soon enough.