The Kalen DeBoer era in Tuscaloosa may have just begun, but the heat is already rising under the Alabama head coach’s seat. After a rocky 9-4 debut season — Alabama’s worst since Nick Saban’s first year in 2007 — college football analyst Paul Finebaum has sent a clear warning: anything short of a playoff berth in 2025 could spell disaster. With sky-high expectations and a $70 million buyout looming, DeBoer faces a ruthless truth — at Alabama, rebuilding isn’t an option, and patience runs thin.
One of those under scrutiny is Kalen DeBoer, the head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide, who finished his first season with a 9-4 record. This marked Alabama’s worst season since Nick Saban’s inaugural year in 2007.
What is particularly concerning is that Alabama lost three of its four games to teams that ended the season with five or more losses. ESPN’s Paul Finebaum has been vocal in his criticism of DeBoer regarding this outcome.
During a recent episode of “The Paul Finebaum Show,” he identified DeBoer as one of the coaches on the hot seat entering the new season. Finebaum previously stated that if DeBoer does not lead Alabama to the playoffs this year, it would be considered a failure.
“The pressure is always at Alabama,” Finebaum said. “I don’t think that’s saying a great deal.”
Finebaum has consistently stated that he doesn’t say there is pressure to be harsh; rather, he emphasizes the high standards at Alabama due to the tremendous success achieved under Saban. As a result, the expectations at Alabama differ from those at any other college.
Alabama may face a significant situation if the Crimson Tide does not have a successful season and decides to part ways with head coach Kalen DeBoer. He has one of the largest buyouts in college football, which is set to be $70 million in 2025. This amount ranks as the third highest in the sport, trailing only Lincoln Riley of the USC Trojans and Kirby Smart of the Georgia Bulldogs.
For context, the highest buyout ever paid to a fired coach was to Jimbo Fisher, the former head coach at Texas A&M, whose buyout was $77.5 million. In DeBoer’s case, if he were to be dismissed “without cause,” he would receive 90% of his remaining contract in monthly installments until the end of the contract term.
Both Alabama and DeBoer hope to avoid such a scenario and aim to return the Crimson Tide to national championship contention. Alabama kicks off the season with a major road game against the Florida State Seminoles at 3:30 p.m. ET on Aug. 30.
