Alabama football won national championships under Paul W. “Bear” Bryant, Eugene “Gene” Stallings, and Nick Saban, but Kalen DeBoer has an opportunity to accomplish something special in his first year.
The first season for several Crimson Tide head coaches was not successful. Coach Bryant was 5-4-1 during his first year in 1958 before his first national title came in 1961. Walter Perkins had a decent first season of 8-4 in 1983 while Bill Curry’s first year finished at 7-5 in 1987. Stallings was 7-5 in 1990 before capturing an undefeated national championship in the 1992 season.
RELATED: Alabama players update jersey numbers for 2024 college football season
Saban was 7-6 in his first year in 2007 before winning his first BCS National Championship at Alabama in 2009.
DeBoer has a roster for the Tide that can propel to an elite season in year one. Greg McElroy, a former Alabama quarterback, revealed why he thinks DeBoer’s first season will be a massive success on his Always College Football podcast.
Will Kalen DeBoer have the BEST first season of any @AlabamaFTBL head coach in HISTORY??@GregMcElroy answers ⬇️#RollTide pic.twitter.com/86p1NQ36c7
— Always College Football (@AlwaysCFB) June 18, 2024
“Here is what is most fascinating about this. The first year for most Alabama coaches traditionally has been really, really underwhelming,” McElroy said.
“Nick Saban was 7-6. Mike Shula in 2003 went 4-9. Dennis Franchione in 2001 was 7-5. Mike DuBose in 1997 was 4-7. Gene Stallings was 7-5. Bill Curry was 7-5. Ray Perkins in 1983 was 8-4. And that is the best record, I might add, 8-4 in 1983. And this was in the modern era. I stopped it with Bear Bryant back at 5-4-1. I look at the modern era, starting with Bear Bryant to where Alabama is now, which is even more kind of surprising there’s only been eight head coaches. I would be surprised if Alabama did not at least win nine games this year.”
McElroy has DeBoer going at least 9-3 in his first regular season. Alabama could finish at 10-2 or 11-1 as well. It will be tough for the Tide to go undefeated with the new 12-team College Football Playoff format, but it will be interesting to see how it plays out.
*Get the BEST Alabama football insider information, message board access, and recruiting coverage today! SIGN UP HERE to unlock our subscriber-only content!*
Stephen M. Smith is the senior writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @CoachingMSmith.
