Every week, we present “Tide Takes”, where we’ll get into a different topic on the Crimson Tide, break down the previous game, preview the upcoming game, and everything in between.

Over the weekend, a Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer reached a milestone.

While his first season in Tuscaloosa had already come to an end, January 12 marked exactly one year since he was hired, just days after Nick Saban stunned the college football world by retiring following the team’s Rose Bowl defeat.

There’s no question the season did not go as many wanted, hoped, or even expected it to in DeBoer’s first year, but how should he be evaluated in totality a year after he got the job.

Some context is important here. First off, DeBoer won last offseason months before he even stepped foot on the sidelines as the Alabama head coach for the first time. Recruiting wise, there were of course portal entries and decommitments, but he for the most part held together a talented class and laid the groundwork for his own first full cycle.

Getting Ryan Williams back in the fold was a seismic move which obviously paid dividends in the end and will continue to do so in both of their second seasons in Tuscaloosa.

But pulling in a top-five class for 2025 in what was the first time recruiting in the South for a coach who many thought would not be able to do it is incredibly impressive.

On the field is a bit of another story in a lot of ways.

Things got off on the right foot and the Tide looked like world beaters in the first half of the Georgia game. But after having to hold on for dear life in the second half to barely secure a win, things went downhill from there.

The loss at Vanderbilt was inexcusable and something that would have never happened under Nick Saban. But to compare DeBoer – or any coach for that matter – to Saban is not a fair bar to hold him to.

The loss at Tennessee was not exactly shocking and occurred in the face of what was at the time Jalen Milroe’s worst performance in an Alabama uniform. Milroe’s struggles handicapped the offense all season long and would directly lead to the final two losses as well against Oklahoma and Michigan.

Losing to a dreadful Sooners team in dominating fashion with everything still in front of them may have been the lowest moment of the season and ultimately led to the official ending of the year and non-appearance in the playoff.

While DeBoer did guide the team to another win over the Georgia Bulldogs as well as a road domination of LSU and a fifth straight Iron Bowl victory, he’d be the first to tell you it wasn’t good enough.

Moving into year two, DeBoer will have the institutional control to do things his way. No more is he beholden to one quarterback or one player. It’s a second year of having his guys in the building and there will be no emotion in who is going to be running the offense.

After getting his feet wet in the SEC in year one, improvements will be made in year two.

Of course there were some unacceptable losses, losses that simply cannot happen for a team who hopes to compete for titles year in and year out.

But there’s been enough positive both on and off the field to convince fans that Kalen DeBoer both was the right choice for the job and is going to win at Alabama.