Alabama HC Kalen DeBoer breaks down effort, execution vs Mercer, previews facing Oklahoma in Norman
After a moment following losses to Vanderbilt and Tennessee where the season appeared to be slipping away from Alabama football, the ship has turned around in Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide is coming off of blowout wins against LSU and Mercer, with two winnable SEC games coming up for a chance at a College Football Playoff bid.
And through it all, UA head coach Kalen DeBoer has been the same person.
“I’ve told you guys this before – his superpower is his consistency,” defensive coordinator Kane Wommack said Monday. “In the face of adversity or success, he’s the same guy over and over again. And I think that relentless consistency has been what’s allowed us to kind of navigate through the highs and lows that we’ve seen so far this season and putting in a position to play our best football on the back end of the season.”
Wommack trusted DeBoer completely, leading to his choice to leave a head coach job at South Alabama to join the Tide as an assistant. The two had worked together at Indiana, where he got to see DeBoer’s consistency up close.
According to DeBoer, it’s a trait he’s always had.
“I’ve never been this over-emotional type of, even when you just go back to your playing days, to me it was just about being consistent,” DeBoer said. “You make a play as a player, you just move onto the next one. Things don’t go your way, you move onto the next one, so just being consistent day to day. As a leader, that’s what the people around you need, is someone they can count on and know what to expect when you show up to work the next day, or show up to practice.”
DeBoer’s personality aggravated some Alabama fans following the losses. They wanted more fire in the press conferences, something the coach has never demonstrated.
Instead, behind the scenes, he and the Crimson Tide got back to work. Since the Tennessee loss, UA has looked much improved, shutting out Missouri and blowing out a good LSU team on the road.
The man who replaced Nick Saban explained how his leadership style helps Alabama.
“When things aren’t perfect in a game, that consistency in a game, a player’s not gonna be nervous about coming to you,” DeBoer said. “It doesn’t mean you don’t get frustrated, upset. The biggest thing is people are gonna make mistakes, correct it. Don’t do it again. We’ll be just fine, and we’re all human. I think if I can live it and show consistency that way, that will hopefully trickle down to your staff and to your team. There’s many different ways to lead in a great way, I really feel that way. That’s just the one that fits who I am as a person.”
The Tide faces Oklahoma on the road Saturday, before hosting Auburn to close the regular season. If it wins both games, it almost certainly earns a CFP spot, and could play in the SEC championship game depending on where the chips fall.
In his typical fashion, DeBoer was trying to keep those thoughts out of his team’s collective mind.
“We just focus on what we’re doing right now,” DeBoer said. “We know if we don’t take care of our business, it doesn’t matter. That, I guess, seems simple. I hope it’s simple for our guys, even though I understand the distractions and the noise is out there everywhere. I think we really honed in and the guys really believe on, and have understood the significance of really focusing on where we’re at right now.”
Alabama and Oklahoma are scheduled to kick off at 6:30 p.m. CT Saturday. The game will be aired on ABC.
