DeBoer shuts down possibility of Alabama wearing white helmets

The Alabama Crimson Tide football program is as tradition rich as any program in all of college football.

With 18 national titles and closing in on 1,000 wins in their history — second in all of college football history — Alabama football is as iconic as it gets in the South. Over the past few years, there has been a push from the fanbase for a potential alternate uniforms and a return to a white helmet for certain games rather than always wearing the traditional numbered Crimson.

The Tide has worn white helmets in eight games throughout their history going back to the Ray Perkins era, but not since 1984 has there been anything but the Crimson.

One of the reasons new head coach Kalen DeBoer says he took the job is the rich tradition in Tuscaloosa, and when he was asked this week about the possibility of bringing the white helmets back, he made it pretty clear that he certainly doesn’t plan on it.

“You know, there’s just a lot of pride in who we are and I’m sure that somewhere in the history, you can point to different-colored helmets being worn and maybe someone is for that,” he said. “But right now, we’re just keeping the focus on the main thing and that’s our play on the field and representing the crimson helmet the way we can, in the best way possible…For here, the tradition that surrounds the crimson helmets, that hasn’t been something I’ve thought a second about,”

While of course things could change, Tide fans who desire a return of the white helmets probably shouldn’t count on it anytime soon.