Booger McFarland reveals his stance on Kalen DeBoer's job security at Alabama

Having grown up in Louisiana and attended his homestate LSU just prior to Nick Saban‘s arrival in 2000, Booger McFarland understands what tough times look like in the SEC. It’s why the Tigers’ 1998 first-team All-American defensive tackle knows all-too-well what life is like in Tuscaloosa right now, especially as it related to second-year Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer.

Just 14 games into his Crimson Tide tenure following a historic 17-year run of dominance under Saban, DeBoer is facing intense criticism from all sides after Saturday’s less-than-inspiring 31-17 loss at unranked Florida State. It was DeBoer’s fifth loss in Alabama’s last 10 games, with all five losses coming away from the safe confines of Tuscaloosa.

And, while his coaching seat might be getting a little toasty, DeBoer is hardly on the hot seat one game into the 2025 season, especially given a hefty $63 million buyout he’s owned if fired without cause before the end of the year. It’s why any talk of DeBoer’s ouster, even from frustrated Alabama fans, is more than a little premature.

But that doesn’t mean DeBoer might not face some uncomfortable moments if the No. 21 Crimson Tide doesn’t turn its fortunes around quickly. McFarland explained the pitfalls DeBoer and his family are likely already facing so soon into his Alabama career.

“Should he be concerned? No. Because I think the buyout is like $70 million, but what happens is, he might not get fired, but his family’s got to live in Tuscaloosa,” McFarland told the Pardon My Take podcast crew on Tuesday. “And I think he started out 4-0 but since then he’s 5-5. Think about that: 5-5 in his last 10. … So he’s not going to go anywhere, but when his wife walks into the local grocery store, (she’s) going to (hear talk). I’m assuming he goes to church every once in a while, and the pastor might say a prayer for him. All these little things start to wear on your family and wear on your kids, because the kids still have to go to school, and little buddy’s going to be like: ‘Hey man, your dad sucks.’

“These are the things that happen to coaches that are not necessarily to the level of getting fired, but it bothers the family. … Losing makes everybody take the brunt. … Unless you know what it means in the SEC — and I think he’s finally getting a taste of it — it’s not life and death, man, but it feels like it. Like Brian Kelly in Baton Rouge won 10 games … and they told him it wasn’t good enough. If you win 10 games at certain schools, they’ll put a statue up. In Baton Rouge, you have to win a national championship. So Kalen DeBoer is in a very unenviable situation, because unless he wins a national championship, it’s not good enough.”

DeBoer and No. 21 Alabama (0-1) will have a chance to right the ship over the next several weeks, including a difficult road game Sept. 27 at No. 4 Georgia in primetime. If DeBoer can pull off a similar upset to last year’s last-minute win over the Bulldogs, halting his road woes in the process, he might be able to put out the flame currently raging under his coaching chair.