Mike Norvell is on everyone’s hottest seat list, yet it was his Seminoles that almost risked a complete coaching change at Tuscaloosa. Kalen DeBoer has to be the only head coach to suffer back-to-back four-loss seasons in his first two years as Alabama’s head coach and not get fired. However, Paul Finebaum recently revealed that DeBoer was on thin ice after losing the season opener to Florida State.

During one of the SEC Media Days, Finebaum sat down with That SEC Podcast and dropped a tidbit about just how close Kalen DeBoer came to the edge. While recounting a trip to Tuscaloosa for the Tennessee game, Finebaum ran into a high-rolling Alabama booster early in the morning at the Capstone Hotel. That conversation exposed the sheer panic happening among the boosters, as they considered showing DeBoer the door.

“I ran into some fat cat at the hotel really early. We get out early because the show starts at 9, I think,” Paul Finebaum said. “I didn’t know him, but he was a major booster staying at the Capstone Hotel in Tuscaloosa. He said, ‘You know, things were pretty grim after the Florida State loss!’ I said, ‘Really?’ He said, ‘Yeah. There were calls being made,’ this is Day 1 of the season-Sunday morning. On Sunday morning, calls were being made like, ‘What’s it going to take, if this doesn’t turn around for us, to buy DeBoer out?’”

The 31-17 defeat was the first time that Bama lost a season-opener in 24 years, even way before Nick Saban was a coach at Bama. But if Alabama had fired Kalen DeBoer without cause at that point, the school would have owed him roughly $63 million. His contract guaranteed him about 90% of the salary left on his deal, which is a hefty amount for any boosters to put together.

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Tuscaloosa doesn’t want to follow in the footsteps of Baton Rouge or College Station. Jimbo Fisher and Brian Kelly stand as stark warning signals against making hasty decisions. Even though the Aggies have managed to recover, and LSU appears to have redeemed itself by poaching Kiffin from Ole Miss, the money still had to flow out. That’s hard cash being given away to a man who is not doing any work for you. DeBoer could have become part of that club.

Luckily for DeBoer, the early panic never turned into a firing after cooler heads eventually prevailed. As the booster told Paul Finebaum, the Tide in Tuscaloosa changed just a few weeks later. Alabama registered a blowout 73-0 victory against the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks. It eased the pressure on DeBoer and helped turn the season around. The Crimson Tide finished the season 11-4, including a playoff win.

Truth be told, winning covers up a lot of flaws. That SEC win against Georgia and the playoff win against the Sooners might have altered the trajectory of the season, perhaps even DeBoer’s coaching career forever.

Once the season was over, the university’s Board of Trustees officially doubled down on their coach. The front office gave DeBoer a new seven-year, $87.5 million extension through January 2033. The deal apparently raised his annual salary to $12.5 million, which should make him the third or fourth highest-paid coach in college football.

Regardless, Finebaum’s insider tea proves that no Alabama coach is ever safe, no matter how big the Buyout they carry on their head. The new extension gives DeBoer more security. But if Alabama fires him in 2027, the school would still have to pay him a $56.25 million buyout.

DeBoer survived the early storm and received a payday, all thanks to his 17-point comeback on the road against Brent Venables’ Oklahoma Sooners in the playoffs. But the Florida State loss showed how quickly the pressure rises when Alabama stumbles.

The patience is also wearing thin with recruiting stumbles and a lack of identity being felt throughout the fanbase. Nick Saban’s exit left a void that it is almost unfair on DeBoer to be asked to carry the torch ahead and not expect immediate backlash at mistakes that other programs would forget and forgive. Just like Belichick and Brady at New England, Nick Saban has given Tuscaloosa an expectation of being champions every year.

A season without a natty in Tuscaloosa now is going to be seen as a disappointment. Between Norvell and DeBoer, the lines become blurry as to who is carrying more pressure. At least for Kalen, he is safely contracted for the foreseeable future. Whether this level of job security leads to complacency or more wins is yet to be seen.