Joel Klatt: Kalen DeBoer losing vs. Georgia would be ‘clear step backwards’ for Alabama
Nick Saban handled Georgia with an 8-2 all-time record, including a 5-1 mark against Kirby Smart. That is something that Kalen DeBoer will now have to achieve for himself in his first game against the Bulldogs.
Joel Klatt asserted the need for DeBoer to win with Alabama over UGA during his show on Wednesday. If they don’t beat them, he thinks it would represent a regression for the Crimson Tide based on how they’ve played against them in recent history.
“The reason that people are right, that he does have pressure on him is because of the success that Nick Saban and Alabama had against Georgia. Because of that success, if they’re not able to win? Then it might be a clear step backwards and I don’t think Tide fans are going to be all that happy about a clear step backwards,” said Klatt. “I think Kalen needs to win this game because, if he doesn’t, it’s a clear step backwards and that’s not a program that wants to take a clear step backwards.”
Klatt’s position is one of if he was someone in Tuscaloosa. He knows they would love a win and thinks they could handle a close loss but a defeat beyond that would be something that could change some overall thoughts on DeBoer to start his first season as head coach.
“I’m looking at this from the perspective of DeBoer and an Alabama fan,” Klatt explained.
“I will give this one caveat. If he loses a really tight game that’s really close, it’s well-played, and it just so happens to go Georgia’s way? I think everyone would be like, ‘Okay, you know what, we’re fine. Everything’s fine,'” said Klatt. “But, if at home and at night, they go out there and lose by multiple possessions? Then people might think to themselves, like, this is a clear step backwards and he desperately wants to avoid that. He doesn’t want to have to deal with that certainly as a narrative surrounding him.”
However, for all the criticism that could come, DeBoer would also earn a ton of credit if ‘Bama wins.
“In the event that Alabama wins this game, at home, under Kalen DeBoer? I actually think, for DeBoer, that is a seismic, seismic opportunity,” said Klatt. “This could be a win for Alabama that plants a flag and says there will be no dropoff to the greatest run in the history of the sport. That’s saying something. That’s why it would be a seismic win if Alabama were to beat Georgia.”
“It would be a giant win if Kalen DeBoer could win,” Klatt said. “It really would.”
This game has been circled for some time as the first true moment of DeBoer’s tenure. That’s now on him to win it to assert that Alabama is still now what they were then under Saban.