Kalen DeBoer continues to spiral as he loses grip of his first season with Alabama

No one expected Year 1 to be effortless for Kalen DeBoer and the Alabama Crimson Tide, but October has been brutal for the program. After beating Georgia 41-34 and drawing acclaim as Nick Saban's heir, everything has gone downhill in Tuscaloosa. Losing to Vanderbilt and barely surviving against South Carolina has been a wake-up call for Alabama.

Losing to No. 11-ranked Tennessee on the road isn't something Saban would do, but the loss on its own isn't the end of the world. The real concern for DeBoer and the Tide is how these losses are playing out.

DeBoer is not doing a good job of creating a disciplined team or attacking his opponent's weaknesses.

Last week, I highlighted how Alabama's interior offensive line had a huge opportunity to dominate this game. Saban's Tide teams always won in the trenches, and DeBoer inherited a good unit from Saban. The rest of the team is only okay compared to Saban's past juggernauts, but DeBoer should have the run game operating at a much higher level.

The fact that he hasn't adjusted the offense and continues to ask quarterback Jalen Milroe to do so much is highly concerning. The Tide have good recruiting classes coming, and this team lacks a star back and secondary playmaker besides Ryan Williams. However, there's enough here to win with a cleaner performance.

While Alabama held Nico Iamaleava to an inefficient outing, the Tide's offense couldn't keep pace with Dylan Sampson. Milroe was awful under the increasing weight of the offensive load, completing 25-of-45 passes for 239 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions. He somehow ran for only 11 yards on 14 carries, taking three sacks.

It's not shocking this happened, though, as Milroe hasn't consistently found playmaking outside of Ryan Williams. The Tide's run game had been relatively efficient up until this outing, but it was clear that Milroe continuing to lead them in carries was problematic.

And yet, it happened again, and Milroe outpaced Jam Miller and Justice Haynes in carries.

Some of that is because Milroe is struggling to find open targets and adjusting to a more advanced scheme. Those are separate factors going against him. He'll tuck and run if he gets the chance, but teams aren't respecting their lack of speed and dynamic talent outside of Williams.

This is where DeBoer has to take a hard look in the mirror before Missouri, LSU, and Oklahoma look to replicate the book that is out on the 2024 Tide offense. It's time to shift things away from asking Milroe to being the hero, and getting back to what made Alabama so good for almost two decades under Saban.