Paul Finebaum drops his verdict on Kalen DeBoer firing rumors after Alabama's big loss to FSU in opening weekend

With the opening weekend loss to FSU, Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer has quickly made the hot seat list. The Bama standards are insane, especially after coming off a weary 9-4 season. Despite the FSU QB Tommy Castellanos’ offseason chirp, which could have been fuel to take down the Seminoles, Alabama crumbled. They lost the game 37-14. It more or less looked like a lopsided game where the FSU defense blazed across the field.

Reacting to the whole scenario, Paul Finebaum shared his thoughts on whether DeBoer is on the verge of hitting the unemployment line. He claimed that DeBoer's upcoming games against top teams could turn out to be a deciding factor.

Alabama has a bunch of exciting games lined up ahead where they will meet LSU, South Carolina, Georgia and more. It will be essential for DeBoer to win all the conference games if the team wishes to make the playoffs.

“I’ll give you the standard line, then I’ll give you the reality line. My gut tells me it’s hard to believe that he would be fired at the end of this year,” Finebaum said on Monday via AL.com.

NCAA Football: Alabama at Florida State - Source: Imagn

He added that various aspects need to be factored in when it comes to DeBoer's firing. It has been only one game that went against their aspirations.

“Now, there is a scenario here that it just becomes untenable. By that, you start losing games you’re not supposed to lose – like the one Saturday, last Saturday. You drop a Wisconsin game?

“I mean, I don’t really know what to tell you on these SEC games because, right now, it’s hard to really – until we see the Georgia game, it’s going to be very difficult to find a lane for him to win these games,” he added.

Kalen DeBoer stays optimistic after opening weekend loss

Ahead of the upcoming matchup against LA Monroe, DeBoer had a brief interaction with the reporters on Thursday where he spoke about last week's loss and the team's injury report. DeBoer mentioned that his team was in good physical condition and they are prepared to take on new challenges.

“We’ve got a resilient team. I really do believe that. It shows what their response has been. We got punched in the mouth a little bit. A lot a bit. We’ve got to respond,” DeBoer said to the reporters.

If Bama managed to win each and every game down the line, they still got a fair shot at making the playoffs. Above all, it has now become essential to record at least 10+ winning games in the 2025 season, since that's the Bama standard the program has been upholding during Nick Saban's 17-year stint at Tuscaloosa.