Aldeer.com Forums Alabama Deer Talk Football and Sports Talk DeBoer done?

They decided two years ago that he was their boy and they were going to put their saddle on Miller and ride him. Well good coaches recognize their mistakes and make changes when players fail to perform. Same with the o-line. Same with position coaches not getting the job done. If Deboer fails to make staff and player personnel changes after this year, then yes, I feel he needs to be gone. If he does, then he deserves more time because he’s doing what a good HC does when issues like this arise. Season ended last night. The o-line coach needs to be fired today and they need to be scouring the portal evaluating every experienced offensive lineman in it. Might want to find a couple edge rushers too and get maybe just a little pressure on opposing QBs next year. Indiana’s QB did not have a single speck of dirt on his uniform after the game yesterday and probably didn’t even need to take a shower after playing 3.5 qtrs of playoff football.

You guys that hold coaches to a higher standard than other occupations aren’t being fair. You are looking at this stuff through your fan glasses. If these guys were working and a steel mill and changing jobs yall wouldn’t be saying that.

When you are making 13 million a year to do a job and represent the State, the dynamic is just a little bit different than a steel mill worker. He's paid to win football games and at least be competitive. Putting a product on the field that is akin to a rodeo clown show is not endearing him to anyone. I suspect most level headed Bama fans can deal with the 4 losses per year which is what we are getting, but just falling apart in Nov and getting bullied every game isn't Alabama football.

Mendoza was sacked on first 2 pass attempts and Bama had 3 sacks. He only had to pass 16 times because we could not stop their running game.
They have a well balanced team

It might work against him. I would imagine the high end players are a little harder to deal with these days. Might be easier to take players from the next rung down and turn them into something. More coachable players. He was talking about 11 men doing their job, building a team. That works unless ypu have 2 or 3 players who know theyre better than everyone else. Those players will often be a cancer

I wasn’t referring to you BC. I was talking about the guys expecting the Indiana coach to not leave for more money because he’s “built something” there. 2 injuries to the right kids and he might be at 8 wins this season. Then a few kids leave in the portal and he’s in a bind. Could very easily fall apart next year. If that happens, fans and university would want him to move on after 2 tough seasons in a row. Why should he be loyal to a fan base or employer who isn’t loyal to him?

Same thing with Saban. A lot of fans was wanting him to retire 2 years before he did. No loyalty at all.

I wouldn’t care if Deboer got another job. But I think Alabama would be in a bind trying to find someone better.

Mendoza was a transfer portal QB, and If your going to go that route every season eventually your gonna get a dud. If Mendoza had been a dud like Jackson Arnold, we aren't talking about Indiana in the playoffs right now.

Cignetti has done a remarkable job at Indiana, but he's bound to have a fall back hard season in the next couple of years. Especially if he gets the wrong QB in the portal.

It seems to me that Cignetti has found the secret sauce. He’s using the portal effectively while still maintaining a “team” culture and blue collar work ethic. It’s the culture that he’s brought in, that makes him effective. He’s getting in players faces and you can tell that he’s a disciplinarian but you can also tell that his players fully respect him and are bought into his program. When you see him interacting on the sideline, it’s obvious to everyone in the stadium who is in full control of that team.
Georgia, Oregon, Miami, all the same way

That’s what is missing now at Alabama. The players seem to like Deboer but it’s fairly apparent that the discipline, work ethic, attitude and culture at Bama are currently not where they need to be. There’s a huge difference between players liking a coach and respecting a coach. Right now, Bama looks like a group of individuals showing up to play the game, not a team. Deboer doesn’t need to be their buddy and friend. He needs to be the boss and garner respect from the players and establish a team mentality and culture of hard work, bringing team success. It’s what he’s getting paid 13 million a year to do. So far he hasn’t accomplished it. Can he? It remains to be seen and it’s still too soon to tell. He’s got to make some tough decisions and changes. What he does between now and next fall will determine his future at Bama.

Some of y'all are smoking too much crack rock.......

Cignetti had the stink eye every time he was on camera. Time will tell if he can sustain this level of success. His team did remind me of what Bama looked like a few years back.

I’m not ready to throw DeBoer out with the bath water. Hopefully he can fix the glaring deficiencies & recruit well

I’m torn on who I want to see win out from here. OM I think

DeBoer/Bama has the #2 recruiting class for 2026

#3 Last season.


Just for giggles I took a look at O Line recruiting classes for Indiana and Alabama the last three seasons. (Since we had 23 yards and they played "get off the tracks bitch because the train is coming through" on Bama.

Alabama Star National Rank Pos Rank
Michael Carroll 5 12 1
Jackson Lloyd 4 59 12
Mal Waldrep 4 N/A 37
Casey Poe 4 158 6
Kadyn Proctor 5 5 1
Olaus Ainin 4 135 12
Wilkin Formby 4 172 15
Miles McVay 4 N/A 21

Indiana
Baylor Wikin 2 N/A 84
Evan Parker 3 N/A 98
Matt Marek 3 N/A 138
Evan Lawrence 3 N/A 43
Adedamola Ajani 3 N/A 78
Austin Leibfried 3 N/A 89
Mitch Verstegen 3 N/A 185
Austin Barret 3 N/A 81
Will Larkins 3 N/A 95
Bubba Jeffries 3 N/A 98


Bama - Avg star (4.2) Avg Pos Rank (13)
Indiana - Avg star (2.8) Avg Pos Rank (99)

What's interesting is that none of those Indiana recruits listed started in the Rose Bowl. All of their starters were 23-24 years old. I assume transfers? Cignetti is good at identifying talent and fit to his system; he was recruiting coordinator for Saban.
3 of the Alabama recruits started; 1 true freshman. One will be a high 1st round draft choice.
On the Bama list, Lloyd, Waldrep, Poe are Freshman; Alinen Soph, McVay transferred to N.C. last year.

It's the CFB version of Moneyball.

Great post. You just said it all.

Cignetti sustain success??? Check his roster! Its common knowledge! He did this with mostly 3 star players and was awesome last year with 3 stars in his first year!! Heck - he bought a ton of james madison players with him. If you are wondering how they will rate - 3 star and below all day long is what jmu has! Sustain success?? He just showed you his version of money ball - but he did it different than money ball - he just out coaches everybody. He gets the max hard work and talent out of what he has

To say it bettr - his player talent level ranked in the 60s this year - not good

Results great!!

totally off subject, but anyone notice that Cignetti seemed to always know exactly when the camera was on him last night? He had way too many "Jim from The Office" moments for it to have just been a coincidence...

He is a good Coach; but they do spend some money, also. $2M for Mendoza
I expect they will be raising their NIL budget with their success.

I don't think this era of CFB is conducive to anyone maintaining dominance like Alabama fans have experienced. It's just a matter of who catches the lightning in the bottle that particular year.