"I think he'll win national championship first": CFB insider drops his verdict on Kalen DeBoer vs Dan Lanning debate

Kalen DeBoer and Dan Lanning are two big forces in the SEC and Big Ten heading into the 2025 season. Both head coaches are hungry enough to win a national championship, something that's been long overdue ever since they took up the top job at their respective schools.

Who makes the podium first? Insider Josh Pate has no apprehensions. According to him, it's the Alabama coach who wins the championship title first, compared to Lanning.

When it comes to achievements and the pace of the development, both coaches are head-to-head, but certain other things give DeBoer an edge over the Oregon HC, per Pate.

DeBoer has always been a pioneer in making the playoffs, especially during his time at Washington, when he made it to the title game in 2024, but eventually it turned out to be a heartbreak.

Jim Harbaugh’s Michigan proved to be too strong to get slayed and took the golden trophy home. But this season, Pate sees DeBoer making history at Bama.

“My answer is Kalen DeBoer. I think he'll win a national championship first,” Pate said on his show on Friday.

“For me, I trust Dan landing to load his roster. Every year, I trust Kalen DeBoer to load his roster. Every year, I trust Dan landing to be in the Big Ten Championship race in the playoff picture. Every year, I trust DeBoer in the SEC championship picture and playoff race.

"Every year, there's a lot that I trust both of them to be doing in terms of checking these boxes. So if there's a tiebreaker that I need, it's gonna be head to head.

“I'm gonna publicly doubt him on the show tonight. I'm gonna say DeBoer wins a title before him, and then after the show, I'm probably gonna clip this and text it to him, and I'm gonna say You're welcome. Have a good summer.

"But no lie, if you think about this stat here, if you want a paper popper of a stat, not only is he 3-0 against Lanning. He is 6-0 against Lanning, Steve Sarkeesian and Kirby Smart,” he added.

Kalen DeBoer has expectations mounting after 2024 heartbreak

The veteran coach's first season at Alabama has been nothing but a disappointment for fans, especially after the team failed to record a 10+ game winning season. This was a massive 17-year record that Nick Saban had sustained ever since he took the reins in 2007.

Similarly, the team could not make the playoffs. All these setbacks appear to have given DeBoer a fair idea of Bama standards. During this offseason, he acknowledged these jitters and claimed that the team is gearing up to rectify these errors in 2025.

Expect nothing less than a playoff spot for Kalen DeBoer & Co. in the upcoming 2025 campaign.