re: DeBoer’s First Year

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Easy to say. Saban was prepping for Chattanooga before barn last year.
DeBoer had to go on the road to Norman.
Saban never had to prepare for a conference game before barn. Ever.

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DeBoer had Mercer before going to Norman. And they should've learned from the Vandy game to not take any SEC opponent for granted

I think it's obvious this team as a whole wasn't mentally tough. Saban usually was able to keep the team focused from week to week, but DeBoer isn't to that level yet.

I think the Vandy loss was a function of the players believing the season was over after dominating Georgia for a half. Even the second-half comeback by Georgia wasn't enough to disabuse them of the notion they were the best in the country and could just show up without giving maximum effort.

The Oklahoma game was a combination of the players discounting Oklahoma and the coaching staff having two weeks of tremendous offensive success with the games against LSU and Mercer. I think the staff believed their power QB run approach would work against Oklahoma; they didn't take into account how good Oklahoma's defense was, nor did they consider Venables' reputation as a defensive coach and his ability to scheme (especially having an off week to prepare).

Add to the overconfidence of players and coaches a Jekyll-and-Hyde quarterback, and you've got a recipe for disaster.

My hope is DeBoer has a better grasp now on the SEC as a whole and on Alabama in particular, and will be better prepared to navigate the schedule next year.

This team did more chirping in the media the past two years than any Bama team in the last 17 years. They talked a lot and ultimately couldn't back up all the talk. I'll be glad when this group of players cycles out of the system. As Saban says "We need hunting dogs, not show dogs".

OK, let me come at this sentiment this way, just for devil's advocate purposes.

People say that "laid-back approach" won't work here because Saban recruited people "who wanted to be yelled at and pushed."

Saban doesn't coach here anymore.

What if DeBoer, unlike Saban, recruits self-starters who don't need to be yelled at and pushed?

Things aren't completely, eternally, forevermore set in stone in this sport ...

I do not give a shite if he gives them ice cream cones as long as they stay eligible and win ball games.

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Yeah it shows. KD..." we should hear announcements sometime Monday".

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All he said was Milroe and Booker would let the team know as far as I saw. He didn't say anything about the media or public.

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The narrative about "he had all that talent" is a bunch of BS because we had so much talent transfer out after Saban retired and then had to replace them with either lesser talent or completely green talent.

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According to Greg McElroy this morning on WJOX, Alabama was fifth (or sixth -- I can't remember which) in the nation in 2024 in portal impact. Our overall loss was 33 players. A total of 47 transferred out, and 14 transferred in. Only a handful of other teams in the country were affected that much, and I only recognized one of them -- New Mexico State.

I know most of us on this site realize this, but you still hear the mantra "DeBoer inherited one of the most talented rosters in football." That's demonstrably false. I knew the portal hurt us this year, but I didn't realize the overall gap was that large.

B minus

I expected a 10-2 regular season. 9-3 isn’t that much of a miss.

The only game I really scratch my head at was the Oklahoma game. Just didn’t seem prepared to play on either side of the ball.

A big part of whether we won or lost was whether Milroe could throw the ball when he got rattled. For the most part that was a no.

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I do not give a shite if he gives them ice cream cones as long as they stay eligible and win ball games

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The idea that BAMA needs a hard-arse R. Lee Ermey from Full Metal Jacket style coach is just myopic.
You telling me prime Pete Carroll couldn't win at BAMA?