Danny Kanell Calls Out Concern that Alabama Players Could ‘Walk All Over’ Kalen DeBoer

It has been a wild ride for Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer. The elation from the win over Georgia in Week 5 quickly gave way to deflation following the stunning upset the Crimson Tide suffered at Vanderbilt in Week 6. That was followed up with an uninspired 27-25 win over South Carolina on Saturday.

The Crimson Tide had been 21-point favorites over the Gamecocks, and actually trailed heading into the fourth quarter. Four SC turnovers and a failed 2-point conversion with 43 seconds to play saved Alabama from the possibility of a two-game losing streak.

There's something clearly amiss with Alabama. One former CFB star--Florida State quarterback Danny Kanell--said part of the problem may be DeBoer's player-friendly approach, a departure from how perfectionist predecessor Nick Saban ran his program.

"I think this is all a really fascinating discussion around Bama’s culture because when Kalen DeBoer took over, he’s kind of polar-opposite of what Nick Saban is," Kanell said on CBS on Saturday. "He’s player-friendly, they’ve got music at practice, players are putting up Tik Toks from the locker room and you’re hearing how much fun they’re having, how much more of an enjoyable experience it is for them."

It's enjoyable, though, only until the losses come.

"This is the type of game, when you lose a game like this, a let-down game … I think it’s natural, when you have a player-friendly coach—Kalen DeBoer is a great football coach, it doesn’t mean you can’t win championships like this—but I think it is part of the learning curve and the adjustment process" Kanell said.

"Sometimes, when you have a player-friendly coach, players can walk all over you. I think that’s what—you’re trying to balance that."

One of the concerns with the Tide hiring DeBoer is that, though he had a very successful 2023 season at Washington, going 14-1, only losing the championship game to Michigan, his resume is thin. He was a head coach for two years at Fresno State, and two years with the Huskies.

DeBoer has not had to deal with high-profile meltdowns like the one Alabama just endured, has not had to adjust his player-friendliness for the benefit of the team. That could be part of the Tide's ongoing problem here in his first season.