TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Kalen DeBoer left the field in Starkville, Mississippi, confidently and with a better idea of what his Alabama football team is this season. The Crimson Tide passed their biggest test yet, an emphatic 56–23 road win over No. 16 Mississippi State. Following the game, DeBoer praised the makeup of this year’s team, which is 5–0 and ranked No. 6 nationally. 

“I think we’re really a very strong football team physically,” DeBoer said. “When we execute, and that’s a lot of it, I think that’s the difference right now, is guys executing, playing confident, trusting each other.

“And so, I mean, it’s become, I think, an identity. Well, I know it’s become an identity for us.” 

That word—identity—has become a topic in itself regarding Alabama since DeBoer took over in January 2024. For nearly two decades, the Tide’s identity was centered on Nick Saban. In the almost three years since his retirement, Alabama’s position on the field and in the college football landscape has fluctuated. 

Nearly at the midway point this season, it appears Alabama is trending upward with an average margin of victory of 28.8 points. The next test is even bigger than the victory in Starkville: a home matchup against No. 2 Georgia this Saturday. 

And while the post-Saban transition has been an adjustment in several ways, both on the field and in navigating an ever-evolving world of NIL (name, image, and likeness) and roster construction, Alabama’s program remains in strong standing. 

“I think Coach DeBoer continues to get even more comfortable in his role here at Alabama,” Crimson Tide AD Greg Byrne told Front Office Sports last month. “Almost everybody that’s here now from a student-athlete standpoint signed with Coach DeBoer; and that’s a natural evolution. 

“Have we stubbed our toe a time or two? We have. At the same time, we’ve also had a lot of real positive moments, too. We just need to continue to learn and grow, so we put ourselves in the best position to have long-term success, and I feel very good about that direction with Coach DeBoer.” 

Offensive Overhaul

DeBoer didn’t mince words on the opening day of preseason practice. He was met with a question about the lower-than-normal expectations for Alabama, which was picked to finish sixth in the SEC during the league’s media days. It debuted in the AP Top 25 poll at No. 13, its lowest preseason ranking since 2008. 

“Yeah, we’re definitely aware,” DeBoer said back. 

Alabama has enjoyed great highs under DeBoer, including an SEC-record four straight ranked wins without a bye last season, but it has also experienced dramatic lows. Saban’s teams lost only four games to unranked opponents in 17 years; Alabama lost three such games in DeBoer’s first season and then opened the 2025 season with a loss at unranked Florida State. 

There has been a noticeable improvement on that front this season, as Alabama has covered four of five spreads as a double-digit favorite. 

Saban’s retirement meant questions about Alabama’s on-field identity under a new coach, particularly on the defensive side, which was his expertise. That question has largely been answered positively, as Alabama’s defense is 15th in scoring and 17th in yardage on average under defensive coordinator Kane Wommack. The unit has taken a step back in those metrics this year, 51st and 39th, respectively, but the defense ranks second nationally in turnovers forced (13) and 11th in sacks (16). 

The offense, in which DeBoer’s expertise lies, has been a longer transition. On average, the offense had finished around 36th nationally in scoring and 63rd in yardage before this season. The biggest priority last offseason was reversing the 123rd national ranking in rush offense from 2025. It’s decidedly better so far, ranked 43rd currently, thanks in part to personnel changes. 

Alabama’s starting offensive line weighed an average of 339.4 pounds in Saban’s final year—by far the heaviest in the SEC, with Vanderbilt in second place at 325. Conversely, DeBoer favors leaner, more agile linemen. His last unit at Washington, which won the 2023 Joe Moore Award for the nation’s best offensive line, averaged only 306 pounds, which would’ve been the lightest starting offensive line in the SEC from 2023 to 2025 and would be the second lightest this season.

This season, the Tide’s average starting weight is 318.6 pounds, which is ninth in the conference. Alabama brought in 11 new offensive linemen, completely flipping the room from a season ago. The addition of freshman running backs EJ Crowell and Trae’shawn Brown, who are each averaging at least five yards per carry and have combined for eight rushing touchdowns, has also helped. 

But arguably, the most impactful change has been sophomore quarterback Keelon Russell’s elevation, particularly in downfield passing. His 15 yards-per-completion average ranks eighth nationally and is far outpacing previous DeBoer quarterbacks, including 2023 Heisman finalist Michael Penix Jr. during the coach’s final season at Washington. 

Overall, the offense with nine new starters ranks second nationally in points per game (49.6). The change in offensive personnel is indicative of a larger roster overhaul; Alabama signed 19 players from the transfer portal, which is the most under DeBoer. The class included players from powerhouses like Oregon and Texas to FCS programs like Cal Poly and Mercer. The class received modest rankings—18th by 247Sports and 33rd by On3—but it’s been impactful on the field. 

“There’s a lot of phone calls that are made to people to find out,” DeBoer said. “Everybody can turn on the film and see what pops off the screen; it doesn’t matter what level. It’s the other pieces. We’ve brought in some guys that I think really have adapted well. We anticipated that because of our research and understanding of these guys and their character.” 

Money Matters

College football changed Jan. 10, 2024, when Saban abruptly retired shortly after the 2023 season. For Alabama specifically, it closed the door on the most dominant on-field run in modern college football history, but it also put an end to a key advantage in talent acquisition. 

Saban’s track record earned a so-called “Saban discount,” a working theory that prospects turned down larger offers elsewhere to play for the Tide and benefit from his track record of development and winning. 

The chance to play for one of the greatest coaches of all time, and what came with it in development and winning, was arguably the strongest recruiting pitch in the sport. That also meant the Tide’s financial equation changed when DeBoer took over. Alabama’s NIL infrastructure, while not totally nonexistent, wasn’t as strong as other programs during Saban’s tenure. Expanding that was one of Byrne’s biggest priorities in 2024, and it has continued to the present day.

Ayrton Breckenridge-Imagn Images

On Jan. 12, 2024, the day DeBoer was hired, Alabama’s NIL arm, Yea Alabama, posted a tweet that read: “Seventeen years ago, fans poured into Tuscaloosa Regional airport to welcome Coach Nick Saban. In 2024, things are very different. Let’s welcome Coach Kalen DeBoer through supporting the thing he needs most: NIL. Join today.” The organization added more than 1,000 new members in DeBoer’s first week. Within the year, it had thousands of new members represented across all 50 states, something that wasn’t the case under Saban. 

Yet Alabama has continued to evolve in the years since. Originally created as an arm that specialized in merchandising, it’s transformed into a full-time media arm with original content directly under the university. Byrne told FOS that membership has grown fivefold over the last year. Another key strategy that Alabama has leaned on is leveraging its brand and visibility into sponsorship deals. Under Nike’s Blue Ribbon Elite NIL program, formed in 2025 to collaborate with specific athletes across all sports, eight Alabama players signed deals this year—the second most in college football behind LSU (11). 

There’s still work to be done. But there’s much more confidence in Alabama’s NIL infrastructure today than three years ago. 

“Night and day, much better structure, much better strategy,” Byrne said. “It’s evolved in a very good manner that we’re trying to create a long-term sustainable model. And just like anything else, it takes time to grow, and so we’re seeing that growth, and you know we got our foot on the gas. We’re going to keep pushing it down.” 

According to The Athletic’s budget projection, the Crimson Tide have a top-10 payroll in college football this year. On the recruiting trail, their two recruiting classes under DeBoer have finished around fourth nationally on average, according to 247Sports and Rivals. 

Industry sources suggest Alabama’s front office structure differs from some of its peers in college football. One example: LSU, which compared its setup to an NFL franchise, hired a new four-person team to oversee roster management this summer. Other programs that employ a GM and one or multiple assistant GMs include Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Oregon, USC, and more. 

The Tide’s operation is less elaborate and highly collaborative. Alabama has one GM in Courtney Morgan, and one director of recruiting strategy in Jatavis Sanders. While programs such as Texas and Ohio State have senior positions tied to scouting and the transfer portal, such positions are only at the associate level with Alabama. But it makes up for it with a large number of support staffers, including five in recruiting, six under player personnel, and fifteen football analysts. 

“We’re meeting every single week,” DeBoer said. “[Morgan’s] staff with the offensive side of the ball, his staff with the defensive side of the ball. We wrap up on the weekend as a full staff with how recruiting is going and everything that anybody needs to know. 

“We do it as a full staff. That’s the way we want our recruiting to be. That’s the way our team is. It’s all in together.” 

Upholding a Standard

Alabama versus Georgia has become one of college football’s most familiar, high-stakes matchups over the past decade. The two teams have played nine times since 2017, with both teams ranked inside the top 10 each time except once. This year’s game carries similar stakes, with Georgia coming to Tuscaloosa ranked second nationally, while the winner will cement itself near the top of the national rankings and hold a key win in the SEC standings. 

DeBoer’s first signature win at Alabama came against Georgia in 2024, in part validating his hire at that time. Now there’s another opportunity to secure a win over the back-to-back SEC champion. Alabama’s next step as a program: winning the SEC and making a deep playoff run—not just this year but perennially. 

That level of expectation, regardless of coach, remains the same—especially considering the level of commitment within the program today. 

“Well, the bar is high in Alabama,” Byrne said. “That has not changed, nor will it ever change.”