Kalen DeBoer responds to critics, vows to build physical program at Alabama

Kalen DeBoer has heard all the criticism after Alabama‘s once-proud ground game finished 125th out of 136 FBS programs last season, averaging just 104 rushing yards per game in 2025. It was a steep decline in rushing production from just a season prior, when the Crimson Tide averaged nearly 174 rushing yards per game behind dual-threat quarterback Jalen Milroe in 2024.

Now, ahead of his third season in Tuscaloosa, DeBoer understands the importance of Alabama getting back to its physical roots, especially on offense. But he’s also not going to apologize for making the most of the Tide’s pass-friendly offensive personnel in 2025, led by star quarterback Ty Simpson — the No. 13 overall selection by the Los Angeles Rams in the 2026 NFL Draft last month.

“You work around your personnel,” DeBoer told ESPN analyst and former Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy on Wednesday’s episode of his Always College Football podcast. “I really do believe you don’t win championships without a physical nature to your program, and that happens through what you do in practice. That’s what we want to become. I know what that looks like, we’ve done it at multiple places.”

Outside of that 2024 season, his first in Tuscaloosa, DeBoer’s offenses have generally leaned more toward the passing game. DeBoer’s Washington offenses ranked first and second nationally in the pass game, averaging 369.8 and 343.7 passing yards per game in 2022 and 2023, respectively. In two seasons at Fresno State in 2020-21, DeBoer’s Bulldogs offenses never finished lower than ninth nationally in passing.

“I’m not going to take away from what we were at Washington and the ability to throw the football or what we were last year with Ty (Simpson) slinging it around to a talented group of receivers,” DeBoer continued. “That’s dynamic, and you want to be as dynamic as you possibly can be. But you do need to have a physical way about you if you want to win the championships.”

For proof of that, look no further than Alabama’s six national championships won under former head coach Nick Saban, who generally preferred a ground-and-pound offense that Tide fans liked to refer to as “Joyless Murderball” behind the likes of Heisman Trophy-winning running backs Mark Ingram and Derrick Henry, to name a few. Of course, Saban’s offensive approach eventually evolved to embrace a more pass-happy spread attack in the late 2010s and early 2020s.

Still, with the Crimson Tide slated to debut a new starting quarterback in 2026, with coaches still deciding between junior Austin Mack and redshirt freshman Keelon Russell, as well as a reloaded ground game that includes Five-Star Plus+ freshman EJ Crowell, the No. 2 running back in the 2026 recruiting cycle, according to the Rivals Industry Ranking, DeBoer is determined to infuse more physicality into Alabama’s offense in 2026.

“You know, I can’t wait to the point where we get back to being what we truly are,” DeBoer concluded, “and I know our guys are working extremely hard to make sure that any flaws that we’ve had or areas we’ve come (up) short … that we are looking to become what we know we need to be and can be.”