Kalen Deboer’s first season at Alabama has been lackluster, especially by the standards Nick Saban brought to the Crimson Tide. As such, many Alabama fans have already begun calling for his removal from the football program.

Not unlike USC’s Lincoln Riley, who’s found himself in a similar situation, DeBoer experienced much success before taking his position with the Tide. His previous job at Washington was a resounding success. 

The Huskies’ official site describes DeBoer fondly, stating “In his first year at UW, he led the Huskies to a, 11-2 overall record, including a 3-0 mark against ranked teams, and a win over Texas in the Valero Alamo Bowl. His Huskies swept its three Northwest rivals, finished in a tie for second in the Pac-12, and he was named Pac-12 Co-Coach of the Year. He was also the Associated Press Pac-12 Coach of the Year and, at the 88th annual Seattle Sports Star of the Year Awards in Feb., 2023, earned the inaugural Seattle Sports Leader of the Year Award.

“Not only were 11 wins in 2022 three more than any first-year head coach in UW history had ever compiled, DeBoer was the first UW football coach ever to win a bowl game in his first season.”

Logic follows that DeBoer should then, hypothetically, perform even better with the Crimson Tide’s immense talent. Yet, he’s struggled to get the reigns on his team, suffering brutal losses to Vanderbilt, Tennessee, and, worst of all, a brutal beatdown by an incredibly subpar Oklahoma team.

The Tide lost that Oklahoma matchup 24-3, despite the Sooners passing for just 68 yards throughout the entire game. This marked the first time since 2004 that the Tide had scored so few points. Worst of all, DeBoer’s squad even opened the scoring of the game, scoring the only points in the first quarter– they just seemingly figured that was enough for the whole game.

With this loss, the Tide will most likely miss the College Football Playoff this season, despite the recently introduced 12-team field.

Amidst such a disappointing season, many Alabama fans have already begun calling for DeBoer’s head. One disgruntled fan on X stated that “Kalen DeBoer destroying what Nick Saban built at Alabama in seven games is just d— impressive.”

One fan even went as far as to speculate that Alabama could, theoretically, fire DeBoer before the end of the Iron Bowl to save on buyout money. Will Alabama do that?

Absolutely not. Even if one sets the possibility of this insane theory aside, the legal ramifications would be immense.

Whatever the case, it is immensely clear that DeBoer’s days in Tuscaloosa may be numbered– especially if he isn’t able to perform up to snuff in the Iron Bowl.

Alabama A&M’s Medrick Burnett Jr. died at age 20 on Wednesday night after suffering a head injury in a football game in October, Jefferson County deputy coroner AJ Clifton confirmed with The Athletic on Friday.

The redshirt freshman linebacker suffered a head injury during the Bulldogs’ 27-19 loss to Alabama State, their in-state rival, on Oct. 26 during the Magic City Classic.

Clifton declined to give any further information to the outlet; however, a news release is expected to be given on Saturday.

On Wednesday, the university did confirm the death of its student; however, it withdrew the statement just hours later after hearing from UAB Hospital that he remained alive.

Alabama A&M said it was “originally advised by an immediate family member on Tuesday evening” about the 6-foot-2, 225-pound freshman.

“We retract the news of the passing of Medrick Burnette Jr, that was originally advised by an immediate family member on Tuesday evening,” the university’s athletic department posted on X. “Our staff acted accordingly to the wishes of the family member to inform the A&M community and beyond of this unfortunate occurrence. Upon hearing from a representative from UAB hospital this afternoon, we learned that he remains alive. We express our immediate regret for disseminating false information however, we hold complete joy in knowing that Medrick remains in stable condition.”

A GoFundMe started by Burnett’s family says the linebacker was “severely injured after a head-on-head collision” in October, which fell just a day before his 20th birthday.

“He had several brain bleeds and swelling of the brain,” the family also wrote. “He had to have a tube to drain to relieve the pressure, and after 2 days of severe pressure, we had to opt for a craniotomy, which was the last resort to help try to save his life.”

As of Friday night, the family had raised over $51,000 of a $100,000 goal.

On Wednesday, the GoFundMe organizer and Burnett’s oldest sister, Dominece James, posted the latest update on the page, saying “Please pray he is having a tough time but we are holding on til the very end. God give us strength so we can keep the faith.”

Burnett initially played for Grambling State in Louisiana before transferring to Alabama A&M.

The Lakewood, California native had five tackles across seven games of the Bulldogs’ 6-6 season.

Texas State denied South Alabama a shot at the Sun Belt Conference title with a 45-38 victory at Hancock Whitney Stadium on Friday.

The Bobcats outscored the Jaguars 24-10 in the final two periods, and took advantage of three second-half turnovers for the comeback win. South Alabama (6-6, 4-3 Sun Belt) is now eliminated from the possibility of a West Division championship and will await its bowl assignments on Dec. 8.

After South Alabama led 35-31 heading into the final quarter, Texas State used a 12-play, 90-yard drive to take a 38-35 lead with 11:39 to play. Jordan McCloud hit Joey Hobart from 17 yards away for the score, which came after the Bobcats had run the ball on eight straight plays.

South Alabama then drove to the Texas State 40, but the Bobcats’ Mannie Nunnery picked off a short Gio Lopez pass and returned it 60 yards for a touchdown and a 45-35 lead with 7:27 to play. Lopez got up limping after the play, and was replaced by Bishop Davenport on the following series.

Laith Marjan’s 21-yard field goal with 1:32 remaining pulled South Alabama within seven. The Jaguars failed on an onside kick attempt, however, and Texas State ran out the clock for the victory.

South Alabama led 28-21 at after a first half that saw numerous big plays by both teams. The Bobcats got rushing touchdowns of 8 yards by McCloud, 11 yards by Brad Jackson and 33 yards by Ismail Mahdi to take a 21-14 lead with 8:59 left in the second, but missed another chance to score when the Jaguars’ Devin Voisin made a leaping interception in the end zone early in the second quarter.

South Alabama scored on Fluff Bothwell’s 51-yard touchdown run and Blayne Myrick’s 33-yard interception return for a touchdown, then tied the game on Lopez’s 17-yard touchdown pass to Jamaal Pritchett with 3:59 to go before halftime. After an 18-yard punt gave the Jaguars the ball on the Texas State 25, Lopez ran for an 8-yard touchdown to put South Alabama up 28-21 with 2:06 to go in the second.

The Jaguars’ defense turned in another big stop just before halftime, after Texas State drove into the USA red zone. Myrick and fellow linebacker Darius McKenzie stopped Bobcats receiver Chris Dawn two yards short of the first down on third-and-7, and Texas State — which had used all three of its timeouts on South Alabama’s previous possession — could not get another play off or stop the clock (because it was fourth down) before time expired.

Texas State tied the game at 28-28 with a 12-play scoring drive midway through the third quarter, with Lincoln Pare leaping into the end zone from a yard out. After South Alabama fumbled at its 29, the Bobcats went up 31-28 on Mason Shipley’s 32-yard field goal with 2:34 left in the third.

South Alabama went back on top with a quick scoring drive, using just three plays. Bothwell broke loose for a 29-yard touchdown run — his second of the game — to make it 35-31 after three quarters before the Bobcats owned the fourth.

South Alabama now awaits a bowl game assignment, which will be announced on Dec. 8.