It’s not only common sense, it’s also mathematical sense as well! If you look back at some of my comments following the hiring of DeBoer, you’ll find our opinions on this matter were aligned. Like you, I so hope DeBoer beats the lottery odds and becomes Bama’s third GOAT … but I wouldn’t bet a dime on it. Like you, that doesn’t mean I think he was a bad hire. I said at the time I thought he was at worst the second best hire they could have made.
I’ve said repeatedly over the years that the only reason Bama has always ended up hiring coaches who ended up winning NC’s is because the Bama fans demanded it. Otherwise, you have to believe that it’s just been luck Bama has won NC’s in nine of the past eleven decades (the 1920’s, 30’s, 40’s*, 60’s 70’s, 90’s, 2000’s, 2010’s and 2020’s). Personally I think I’d put the 40’s into the loss column but that’s just me. Anyway, Bama will end up with a NC winning coach again. I hope it’s their current coach but I know some coach down the line will continue the tradition. It’s much like the NY Yankees fans who like Bama fans, demand excellence and will not settle for coming close. If the Yankees don’t win the WS it’s not OK.
DeBoer knew what Bama fans were like when he accepted the job and since he’s being paid extremely well, I’m one old rabid fan who won’t be OK with piss poor showings like I’ve seen too many times this season. The truth is Bama could easily have five losses. And if one more person tries to compare DeBoers first season with Saban’s first season my head may explode. Shula left the cupboards almost bare while Saban left DeBoer cupboards full of four and five star elite athletes. Only UGA had more to start the season. Vandy’s two and three star players manhandled Bama’s four and five star players from the outset. And Oklahoma who is almost a bottom feeding SEC team this season made Bama look like a typical Vanderbilt team. Other than one half of the UGA game and the LSU game, this team hasn’t looked elite at all. What they did in those six quarters though showed the talent’s in place. If that’s true then they’re not being coached well and the game plans are hit or miss with no ability to adjust either in the fly or at the half. Anyone who truly believes it’s the Jimmy’s and Joe’s and not the X’s and O’s hasn’t watched a lot of football. Coaches matter and it’s never more evident than when you see what we were blessed to see with Saban at the helm.
