Kalen DeBoer explains how he will handle losses despite having few in his career

Fans should judge Kalen DeBoer not by his success, but by his losses because he has so few.

The new Alabama head coach has only suffered 12 losses during his head coaching career — and he isn’t keen on adding more to the list. A wise man once said that success can sometimes sidestep an appreciation for the hardships people endure on the road to greatness.

While there haven’t been many instances of DeBoer suffering setbacks as a head coach, he made sure not to forget a single one of them.

“The ones you relive — I can pretty much remember most of the games but the ones I really remember are the 12 losses,” DeBoer said. “I had someone ask me a year ago, you know — the 11 [losses] at the time — I remember doing the interview and I can remember exactly what the point differential was, I can remember the key moments. Those are the ones that drive you crazy.”

Overall, Deboer holds a 104-12 record as a head coach at all levels coming into the job in Tuscaloosa. He seemingly turned Washington into a national championship contender overnight after spending just two seasons at Fresno State. It was at Fresno where DeBoer suffered six of his 12 career losses.

Being able to look at yourself in the mirror at the end of a hard loss and figuring out how to better yourself as a person and in your profession has been one of the biggest lessons he has learned as a head coach.

“I think those are the hardest talks, too,” DeBoer continued. “You don’t really think in that way, you don’t think about what that talk needs to be in anticipation of losing. Just understanding that everything happens and it’s your ability to respond that always matters.

“That will be important for us because I don’t care — pretty much 99% of the teams across the country are going to go through some adversity in some fashion if not 100% of them. It might not be things you see on a Saturday. It might be behind the scenes. But we’ve got to continue to build that resiliency, that toughness we need, the togetherness that’s important for us to win at a high level.”

DeBoer will look to improve on his win-loss record heading into his inaugural season as Alabama head coach. A new era in Crimson Tide football kicks off on Aug. 31 against Western Kentucky at home.