‘One of the Worst Things You Can Say’ — CFB Analyst Rips Kalen DeBoer for Aggressively Targeting Dijon Lee During Georgia Loss

Alabama’s usually mild-mannered coach Kalen DeBoer was animated throughout the Crimson Tide’s marquee Week 6 clash against the Georgia Bulldogs in Tuscaloosa.

DeBoer was caught on camera yelling at sophomore cornerback Dijon Lee Jr., whose personal foul with just over two minutes remaining in the thrilling contest cost Alabama the chance to stop Georgia, instead granting the Bulldogs a fresh set of downs, which they used to run down the clock.

Analyst Jake Crain was not amused by DeBoer’s proclamation about Lee’s role in the Crimson Tide’s 20-17 loss to the Bulldogs.

Analyst Slams Kalen DeBoer’s Scathing Dijon Lee Rebuke

During Monday’s segment of the “Crain & Cone” podcast, Crain disagreed with DeBoer’s approach to blame the Crimson Tide’s loss on Lee.

“I disagree with the way that he went about it but for a different reason,” Crain said. “He looked at Dijon after the personal foul and said, ‘You cost us the game. You lost us the game.’ I’ve got no problem with you getting after a player, and these guys are paid; your performance matters. Now, did Dijon Lee lose that game? I don’t think so.”

“When you say something like that to a player, that to me is one of the worst things you can say. I guarantee you that Dijon Lee was probably in his office today and they were talking about it.”

Lee is a former five-star prospect whom 247Sports ranked as the No. 3 cornerback and No. 15 overall recruit in the class of 2025, and he had a promising freshman season for the Crimson Tide.

This season, Lee has amassed 17 total tackles (11 solo), 1 forced fumble, 1 interception, and 3 passes defended, earning aPFN’s CFB Cornerback Impact grade of 77.2. The tense game against the Bulldogs and DeBoer’s scathing rebuke aimed at the cornerback will live long in the memory of college football fans.

On the other hand, DeBoer’s mild manner on the sidelines has received mixed reactions from Alabama fans accustomed to former coach Nick Saban’s fire-and-brimstone approach during games.

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Against the Bulldogs, DeBoer showed his passion over the officiating, shouting at officials after a controversial no-call on a potential defensive pass interference against Rico Scott that could have extended Alabama’s late drive.

During his postgame news conference, the former Washington Huskies coach again criticized the lack of emotional maturity that led to Lee’s late penalty.

“We preach emotional maturity, and I really feel strong that across the board we had that with our team and would’ve never expected that to happen,” DeBoer said.

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He added, “You’re out there giving everything you’ve got. You just have to give yourself a chance. And so, emotional maturity is what it comes down to. And we’ve been pretty good at that going on the last two years. Obviously, the moment comes up as we had just now, we didn’t respond the right way.”

The Crimson Tide will face a gauntlet before the end of the season, including trips to Knoxville to face the Tennessee Volunteers and Baton Rouge to face coach Lane Kiffin’s LSU Tigers before an Iron Bowl contest against the Auburn Tigers.

This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.