“Dark Place”: Paul Finebaum Reveals What Scares Alabama Nation Most About Kalen DeBoer after Tennessee Defeat

Losing once can be dismissed as a bad night. Losing back-to-back games? That is when the alarm bells start ringing in Tuscaloosa. Kalen DeBoer is facing a level of scrutiny he has yet to encounter during his Alabama tenure, and the criticism is mounting. Paul Finebaum has now weighed in, and his assessment makes matters look even worse.

“Alabama’s not done, but they are in a very dark place,”Finebaum said on The Matt Barrie Show. “I can’t tell you the amount of anger and animus that I heard as that game was coming to an end. And here’s why: for all the things we’ve said about Kalen DeBoer, the one thing he can’t seem to do is get out of his own way.”

“Every time he gets the fan base behind him, he loses them, and that is a dangerous and scary place to be. It doesn’t matter what your contract is. It doesn’t matter what your elite record is.”

The ESPN analyst pointed out that DeBoer’s Alabama tenure has been marred by a troubling pattern: the Tide struggle to maintain momentum after statement wins, turning highs into embarrassing lows.

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He also highlighted Alabama’s 2024 loss to unranked Vanderbilt just a week after toppling No. 2 Georgia.

The Tide suffered another damaging loss against a 5-5 Oklahoma team after consecutive wins over No. 21 Missouri and No. 15 LSU, effectively derailing their College Football Playoff hopes. Drawing a parallel with this season, Finebaum explains why history could be repeating itself.

“This year, the Georgia game felt like a win,” said Finebaum. “It wasn’t, but it felt good because everybody talked about all the things that didn’t matter anymore, like the officiating. And he throws it all away. I don’t mean he threw the game away. I mean that he just got beaten to a pulp [by Tennessee]. He throws the goodwill away.”

The Volunteers dominated Alabama in a 26-10 victory, outgaining the Crimson Tide 346-201 and extending their winning streak to three games. At 5-2, with just five regular-season games remaining, Alabama has little room for error.

As Finebaum points out, what truly worries the Crimson Tide faithful is how the rest of the schedule looks after such a physical loss. With its margin for error shrinking by the week, Alabama cannot afford another slip-up without putting its playoff hopes at serious risk.

Finebaum emphasized the biggest worry for Alabama fans right now is how physically beaten the team looked against Tennessee. That concern runs deeper because, even though the remaining schedule appears manageable, the Crimson Tide still have a road game at LSU and a home game against Auburn.

In his view, DeBoer is sitting on the cut line, just one loss away from missing the 2026 playoff, and that would hurt badly.

Missing the playoffs would be a major setback for Alabama’s fanbase and head coach DeBoer, especially as it would mark his second season with the Crimson Tide without a College Football Playoff appearance.

If the Tide falter again and miss the final 12-team playoff field, DeBoer could face some deeply uncomfortable questions about his future in Tuscaloosa when the season ends.

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