Kalen DeBoer on national championship expectations in Year 1: 'That's what you come here for'

There are just some teams in sports where its nothing more than championship or bust. Those kinds of expectations can be unrealistic at times but, in Kalen DeBoer’s opinion, it can be the kind of pressure that coaches, players, and programs need.

DeBoer spoke about expecting a championship in his first year leading Alabama Football, one of those programs with year in, year out title hopes, on ‘The Next Round’ on Thursday. He said that those kinds of presumptions, as well as the demand that comes with them, is why he and every single player are in Tuscaloosa to begin with.

“Yeah. I mean, in all honesty, like, that’s what you come here for, right?” DeBoer said. “You come here and there’s going to come a point in time where there’s a lot of pressure going into a week or going even into a moment of a game.”

“The thing I’m always reminding the guys of is this is why you came here, you know,” said DeBoer. “That’s why I came here too, you know, is to be a part of that, having those expectations.”

Coming out of Nick Saban’s tenure, Alabama is a 15-time national champion. He won six trophies over 17 seasons there, including three in the last decade from the College Football Playoff. That’s not to mention the 30 conference titles that they’ve also won along the way in school history.

Now, even while DeBoer’s era is just beginning, that shift is changing those goals for ‘Bama whatsoever.

That’s in part because of his reputation as a winner. In total, DeBoer’s record stands at 104-12 (.897) with a 25-3 (.893) mark at Washington, which featured a Pac-12 Championship and appearance in the national title game of the playoff last fall. It’s also because the field is as accessible as ever with the berths tripled from four to a dozen.

Every team goes into every season hoping to win a championship. Few teams are ambitious enough, though, to expect a championship at the end of every year.

Alabama is obviously a part of that group but, while it’s a lot on his shoulders now, DeBoer wouldn’t have it any other way.

“That’s what it has been and that’s what it needs to be,” said DeBoer.

“You try to do everything you can each and every day to make that happen, to live up to that,” DeBoer said. “That’s certainly our goal.”

How Kalen DeBoer is off to a ‘ten out of ten’ start at Alabama

It has been a rollercoaster of an offseason at Alabama. From the highs of hiring Kalen DeBoer to the lows of losing former five-star recruits, Alabama fans have experienced emotional whiplash.

Despite the turbulent ride, BamaOnLine’s Tim Watts believes DeBoer’s tenure is off to a hot start.

“It’s true what you say that the doubters will say: ‘We haven’t seen him coach a game,’” Watts said. “Well, all we can judge is at this point of his tenure. And at this point of his tenure, I feel like he’s done a good job, 10 out of 10.

“I think he’s done the things he had to do, even in the portal. If you watch — and I’m not saying they’re all equal — but you lost Caleb Downs and you got Keon Sabb. You lost Julian Sayin and you got Austin Mack.”