The Alabama Crimson Tide did not have a successful first season under new head coach Kalen DeBoer by their own standards, but some are ready to push the panic button on DeBoer after the 9-3 regular season and subsequent embarrassing bowl loss against the Michigan Wolverines.

ESPN and SEC analyst Paul Finebaum – who certainly has a history of ‘getting coaches fired’, just ask Lane Kiffin – declared definitively over the weekend in the wake of the ReliaQuest Bowl defeat that DeBoer is on a ‘scorching’ hot seat entering next season.

“I believe very firmly Kalen DeBoer is on a scorching hot seat,” Finebaum said on the Matt Barrie Show. “I’ll tell you what I think it means. It means he is under a microscope. It was playoff or bust this year, and he went bust….the only way to scrap that all away was to win a bowl game against a lousy team, which Michigan was all but one game this season, and he couldn’t do it.”

The Mouth of the South went on to issue a stern warning to DeBoer.

“Kalen DeBoer needs to be very careful,” he said. “If he doesn’t make the playoffs next year, the target on his back will be immense.”

Finebaum is not wrong in saying if things don’t improve it could look ugly next season, but it’s probably a bit dramatic to insinuate Alabama could move on from him if he doesn’t find immediate championship-level success in year two. Regardless, DeBoer would be doing himself – and Alabama fans – a big favor if he has the Tide back in the College Football Playoff next year.