Kalen DeBoer talks about Tide’s schedule and the Bama Standard

Going into last season, Alabama head coach Kalen Deboer was under a lot of pressure. He was following the legendary Nick Saban, and he was coaching a team that was coming off a national championship run and an SEC title.

But since the Tide didn’t do either last season, 2024 was considered a failure by Alabama standards, and Kalen DeBoer realizes that.

DeBoer talked about expectations and living up to the “Bama Standard” coming into this season at SEC Media Days Wednesday as his team took center stage.

"If you internally ask us, no. We fell short of making the playoffs. It's as simple as that, right? Giving yourself a chance to go compete for a championship," he said via the Tuscaloosa News. "I think there's a lot of things that I'm super proud of that have happened within the program that are part of the progression. Yeah, we want it right now, too. Yeah, we fell short."

The Tide ended up with a 9-4 record, including embarrassing losses to Vanderbilt and Oklahoma and finally losing to defending champ Michigan in a bowl game.

But DeBoer and the Tide so far have had a productive offseason. Former Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Ryan Grubbs rejoined DeBoer’s staff earlier this year, and the Tide has had commitments from several top recruits in the state of Alabama.

DeBoer also weighed in on Alabama’s upcoming schedule, which features visits to Florida State to kick off the season and a visit from Big Ten foe Wisconsin. 

“We’re all about playing as many high-end games as you possibly can, and certainly adding another game to the SEC schedule would accomplish that,” he said.

Although the standards are high, neither Alabama nor DeBoer seems to be backing down, which may be bad news for the rest of college football.