The University of Alabama did not achieve its goal of competing for a Southeastern Conference Championship, but an opportunity to make the College Football Playoff in Kalen DeBoer’s first season is still there.
Alabama fans will be glued to television on Tuesday as the CFP Committee makes its deliberation, but DeBoer became the first head coach for the Crimson Tide since Frank Thomas (1931) to win nine games as a first-year coach for the school. He guided the Tide to finishing its regular season the right way with a 28-14 victory over Auburn in the Iron Bowl on Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Alabama looked sloppy at times versus its in-state rival; however, it pulled out a win and that’s what matters.
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Jalen Milroe, Alabama’s starting quarterback, addressed the scrum of media after the game.
The junior highly endorsed his head coach as the right one for this program. Milroe appreciates the impact DeBoer has had on him, his teammates, and the program throughout this process.
“Imma say this, I love Coach DeBoer,” Milroe said. “I love his commitment, his resiliency, him as a leader, the shoes that he filled with the position he is in, always working his tail off to make sure he is the best coach he can be for our football team. … I respect him a lot. He is always trying to get the best out of me, pushes me each and every day to be the best quarterback in the nation that I can be for my football team. Just seeing his fight during the year, it is not easy to be a head coach in the SEC. He has just shown tremendous leadership, his pride in coaching, and just how much he cares about us. Imma be honest, he is one of the best coaches I have ever been around as far as loving the game, enjoying the game, enjoying the process. … Yeah we lost some games, yeah we haven’t played our best in games, but the enjoyment … I have really enjoyed being a quarterback for Coach DeBoer.”
DeBoer has Alabama at 9-3 in his first season.
What did we learn about Alabama after a fifth straight Iron Bowl victory?
The Tide could find itself in the CFP or in the best bowl game outside of the playoff. He went through a lot in his transition, but DeBoer coached Alabama to victories over Georgia, LSU, Auburn, South Carolina, and Missouri in a grueling SEC.
We will see what the CFP Committee says on Tuesday, but Milroe is behind his coach.
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Stephen M. Smith is the senior writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @CoachingMSmith.
