Is head coach Kalen DeBoer on the hot seat at Alabama? The fans certainly are not happy with the direction of the program since DeBoer was placed in the very tough spot of replacing the legendary Nick Saban. Most programs would be happy with a 20-8 mark over two seasons and a trip to the College Football Playoff, but that's not enough for Tide backers. What can we expect from DeBoer & Co. this season as they kick off Saturday at home vs. East Carolina? Bet on college football at DraftKings, where new users get $200 when they spend $5+:
At the end of last regular season, you could find DeBoer odds on leaving Alabama at some sportsbooks as he was linked to lower-pressure jobs at Michigan and Penn State but never interviewed at either school. He was given a new contract at Alabama through 2033 worth $12.5 million per year, a $2 million raise from what he was scheduled to make this season.
His buyout currently is $67.5 million, so he's not going anywhere short of a 2-10 campaign. If DeBoer gets fed up with all the criticism in Tuscaloosa, his buyout owed to the school if he leaves is $10 million through Jan. 31, 2027, and then it starts dropping.
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East Carolina vs. Alabama same-game parlay
- Pirates alt +31.5
- Alt Under 56.5
FanDuel price: +110 (subject to change)
I wonder if the school would have extended DeBoer had Alabama not snuck into last year's playoff despite getting trucked in the SEC title game by Georgia. The Crimson Tide did then beat an overrated Oklahoma team in Round 1 before they had their doors blown off by eventual national champion Indiana to finish with four losses for a second straight year.
Alabama hasn't lost at least four games in three straight seasons since way back from 1982-84, at the end of the Bear Bryant era and start of Ray Perkins' tenure. The Crimson Tide were ranked 13th in the preseason AP Top 25, outside the top 10 in the poll for the first time since Saban's second season in 2008.
Bama has won at least nine regular-season games in 17 straight seasons but is given an Over/Under total of 8.5 for 2026, the lowest since '08. The team's odds to win the SEC title are +850, the longest since at least 2008 to open a year. And the Tide's +2200 odds to win the national title are also the longest in that span.
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Ty Simpson was last year's starter at QB and became a first-round pick by the Rams. He will be replaced on Saturday by sophomore Keelon Russell, who beat out senior Austin Mack for the job. Russell, from Texas, was ranked by sister site 247Sports as a five-star recruit and the No. 2 overall QB in the Class of 2025 behind Bryce Underwood, who is at Michigan.
Russell got mop-up duty in two games last year and was 11-for-15 for 1,443 yards and two TDs. He then threw for 240 yards with four touchdowns and an interception in the A-Day spring game in April. Winning the job has seen Russell go from an open of +8000 to win the 2026 Heisman Trophy to +2500 at BetMGM, although the book isn't overly exposed.
To lead the SEC in passing yards, he's a +600 third-favorite behind LSU's Sam Leavitt (+300) and Texas' Arch Manning (+550). If Russell doesn't get help from the ground game, this will be a long season. The 2025 club averaged only 104.1 yards on the ground, 125th in the FBS and fewest at the school since at least 1946. In Bama's final three games, including the postseason, it totaled 48 rushing yards, the fewest by any FBS team last season over a three-game span.
The Tide are -27.5 for Saturday's game vs. ECU, and boy would I like to hear the fans if they lose at home, especially after Bama's 23-game winning streak in season openers was snapped last year in a two-TD loss to a bad Florida State team.
Alabama last lost back-to-back openers in 2000-01. It has won 86 in a row at home vs. unranked opponents. East Carolina has a nine-game skid vs. SEC foes and has dropped 15 in a row against AP Top 25 schools overall, with the last win in 2014 at Virginia Tech. The Pirates are 14-5 in two seasons under coach Blake Harrell since he took over midway through the 2024 season.
And they are 13-0 under him when scoring at least 26 points. But Harrell only brings back three starters from last year's club that finished with nine wins and a bowl victory over power conference school Pitt. ECU is 4-0 ATS in its past four season openers and 16-3-1 ATS in its past 20 games overall as a double-digit dog. The model has Alabama winning 37-12, but I'm being a bit more extreme on the parlay. Check out other expert picks in the SportsLine daily newsletter.
