Former Ohio State Buckeyes football coach sounds alarm on Alabama Crimson Tide, Kalen DeBoer originally appeared on The Sporting News
Urban Meyer is worried about the Alabama Crimson Tide football program, and specifically, Kalen DeBoer. While the championship-winning Ohio State Buckeyes/Florida Gators coaching legend respects DeBoer, he worries about the team’s culture.
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A 31-17 loss to the Florida State Seminoles, coming in as a two-touchdown favorite, made most worry about the “Bama Standard.” Or lack thereof.
Given that he works with former Crimson Tide Heisman-winning running back Mark Ingram on The Triple Option podcast, Meyer’s opinion carries credibility.
“Kalen DeBoer has been great to me. I think his record speaks for himself, but he’s in it now. Mark Ingram‘s on our show, and we talk about it all the time. When the word ‘Not running to the ball, not giving great effort,’ comes out of your mouth, and you say the word Alabama after that, that doesn’t compute. That hasn’t happened in a long time, and I’m worried about Alabama right now,” Meyer said on Thursday’s edition of The Herd.
Meyer believes Alabama’s locker room could use the kind of leadership Ohio State’s locker room showed Ryan Day in the wake of their 13-10 loss to the Michigan Wolverines at the “Shoe” in Week 14.
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“I saw signs that there’s something either in a locker room, there’s something — I made this comment on Big Noon. He better have some grown ass men in that locker room. Ryan Day, when they lost to the Wolverines last year, they flipped it around. You know why? Everybody gives the coaches credit. I get it. But in that locker room were some grown ass men that weren’t going to put up with that,” Meyer said.
“A coach is a coach. I get it. But, at some point, those veterans — and I use the term ‘grown ass men’ — better show up in that locker room and get that right. Coaches can’t get that right. Coaches do the best they can, but players play.”
The Crimson Tide’s defense has taken on a significantly different personality than it did during the Nick Saban years. Even players Saban recruited are showing less fight and interest.
It’s a culture problem that could doom DeBoer if he doesn’t fix it.
If he can’t, maybe it’s just a culture problem.
