Former Alabama star backs Kalen Deboer with bold statement that will shock Crimson Tide fans
Former Alabama DT Tim Keenan III supports Kalen DeBoer and knows the doubter will eat their words about him moving forward.
The Alabama Crimson Tide football season didn’t go according to plan, and the pressure is on in Tuscaloosa heading into 2026.
It was a roller coaster of a season for head coach Kalen DeBoer after an early loss to Florida State, just to turn the season around and be linked to multiple head coaching jobs that opened up, like Michigan and Penn State.
There is a standard in Alabama, and anything short of a National Championship is a failed season. One former player heading to the NFL Draft backs DeBoer as the best coach he’s ever played under and knows the team is in good hands.
Tim Keenan III backs Kalen DeBoer and has full belief in the program under his coaching moving forward
The fanbase wasn’t happy about the season ending in a blowout loss to Indiana, which was clearly the best team in the country, but 2026 needs to be different. There’s a divide in the fanbase over whether DeBoer is a good enough coach to get the job done, but the players have backed him since day one, even through the lowest lows.
I asked defensive tackle Tim Keenan III about DeBoer and all the noise the team heard this past season, and he didn’t hold back.
“He never said he wanted to go to another school or anything,” Keenan III said at the Senior Bowl. “And he made it clear that he said that. Coach DeBoer has been nothing but the greatest coach ever as far as getting his players going, connecting with his players, and then allowing his best players to be his best players.
“So coach DeBoer, I don’t have a bad thing to say about him. He was all locked in the day he took the job. Yeah, he was under a lot of fire and all that stuff, but I promise you, he’s gonna come out of it way stronger, and a lot of people are going to eat the words that they had to say about him.”
Alabama fans should be patient with Kalen DeBoer, but the pressure is on
Yes, the season didn’t end with success, but the grass isn’t always greener on the other side. Losing DeBoer to Michigan or Penn State would’ve been a disaster for Alabama. DeBoer took over one of the hardest jobs in college football after Nick Saban retired, and now coaches also after to work the roster as they do in the NFL with recruiting and the transfer portal.
Alabama has a ton of new pieces on both sides of the ball for next season, and they have no time to waste in getting everyone acclimated with another brutal schedule.
This season will be a true test for DeBoer as he had his second full offseason to structure the roster the way he wants to, and the results have to show he made the right move. For the players that played for him, like Keenan III, there’s no doubt that DeBoer is the right guy for the job.
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