Breaking down why Kalen DeBoer should take over OC duties at Alabama

The loss of Ryan Grubb has put Alabama in a bit of a bind when it comes to their offensive coordinator. However, in the eyes of On3’s J.D. PicKell, no one may be better suited to now take over those responsibilities than their own head coach.

PicKell recently assessed what Kalen DeBoer should do as far as the hire of the Tides’ next offensive coordinator. At this point, he believes DeBoer should wear the headset himself considering what’s out there compared to his own understanding of offense.

“If I’m Kalen DeBoer? This is what I would do. I’d look around the room, probably look around college football in terms of who’s available for this job or who I could maybe go and get. Is there anybody that I feel with 1,000% certainty is a better offensive mind, a better play caller than me? I don’t think so,” said PicKell. “If I’m Kalen DeBoer, I’m tagging myself as the offensive coordinator for Alabama – at least for this season.”

PicKell went on to say that he realizes that this likely won’t be the full-time solution for ‘Bama on offense. That’s especially so considering all that’s on a head coach’s plate, specifically under the pressure that comes with being the leader of the Tide.

Still, at least in year one, it could be an additional way for him to prove himself. Rather than handing the duties off to someone else, he can make his own impression by calling plays his way and creating success on that side of the football like he did at Washington, Fresno State, and Indiana.

“Maybe it’s not a long-term fix. Maybe, this time next year, Alabama has already hired their future offensive coordinator and Kalen DeBoer can kind of pass the sticks. But look at year one? There’s a lot on the line here,” PicKell said. “Stakes are pretty high for this first year for Kalen DeBoer because everybody wants to know what are you going to be as Alabama’s head coach? You’re following in the shoes of the greatest of all time. What are you going to be as the next guy at Alabama?”

“Year one, whether it’s fair or not, is going to determine how we feel about Alabama. And, more importantly, it’s going to determine how a lot of recruits feel about Alabama,” PicKell added.

DeBoer could certainly go out and hire whoever he sees fits for the job. That might still be the right course of action in order to have one less aspect to worry about. If that were the case, PicKell mentioned names such as Kirby Moore or Nick Sheridan as potential options.

However, in this instance, the safest hands may still be DeBoer’s own at this point and, in PicKell’s opinion, it might be the right way to go about it.

“If I’m Kalen DeBoer? I’m saying listen. If we go down? We go down on my terms,” PicKell stated. “If we don’t have the success that I think we should have in my first year as head coach in Tuscaloosa? It is going to be nobody’s fault but mine because I was calling the plays.”

“I like that for Kalen DeBoer. I, personally, feel like that would be the direction I would go if I were in his shoes,” PicKell said. “Making yourself the offensive coordinator, in some ways, provides the least amount of risk.”