The College Football Playoff’s round 1 brings some high-profile matchups, and the stakes have never been higher for the coaches. Brent Venables is looking to run deep in his first-ever playoff qualification. Whereas, Kalen DeBoer, on the opposite side, looks to calm down the mounting, sharp opinions from Bama fans. But Paul Finebaum advises one of the two coaches to ditch their jobs upon losing the game.

The ESPN broadcaster advised Kalen DeBoer to leave Alabama for Michigan, since the Tide’s opinion has never been in his favor. “Should Alabama lose. I don’t need to tell you what it’s like for Alabama to have consecutive four-loss seasons. I think he would take a deep breath and perhaps look at it, assuming that the job is still open.

I would advise him to look at it because the winter in Alabama after a four-loss season for two consecutive years for Kalen DeBoer will be very cold,” said Paul Finebaum on December 12. The mounting pressure on Kalen DeBoer is undeniable, and the FSU game in Week 1 was the prime example.

Alabama is the biggest legacy program in college football, defined by its standards set by Nick Saban himself. A 9-win season doesn’t cut at all in Tuscaloosa, and even defeats in crucial games turn the tide against DeBoer. Analysts like ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg graded the Bama head coach’s 2025 expectations to be “most improvable” after a 9-win, playoff-less 2024 season. So, when FSU’s defeat came, a mountain of pressure was put on the head coach.

“If Nick Saban watched this tape back yesterday, he would have kicked some of these kids off the team. That’s how bad it was… I think it’s fair to say. Can Kalen DeBoer survive September?” said ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky upon Bama’s disappointing 17-31 upset against FSU. Add to that the Auburn game, in which Alabama looked clueless in moments. Moreover, who can forget Bama’s 21-23 Oklahoma loss at home, and most recently, steamrolling by Georgia?

Another loss for Kalen DeBoer would mean analysts, fans, and most importantly, boosters turning against him. Indeed, it will be a long winter if the team manages to lose on December 19 in Norman, Oklahoma. Accepting a Michigan job would make sense for DeBoer, considering Sherrone Moore just got fired, and no other prominent coaches are there in the market.

Kalen DeBoer reaching Ann Arbor seems likely

Sherrone Moore was relieved of his duties after an “inappropriate relationship” with a staffer came to light. The program fired the head coach with cause, and interim head coach Biff Poggi currently leads the team. Michigan, now, is actively looking for a head coach when major coaches like Lane Kiffin, Kalani Sitake, James Franklin, and Alex Golesh have locked to their program for the foreseeable future.

Kalen DeBoer seems to be the only option. Of course, all of it is contingent on the Oklahoma game in the 1st round. Still, a win also doesn’t look likely for the Bama head coach. DeBoer has already lost to Oklahoma, and this time the game is in OU’s home stead. John Mateer is playing well, and OU’s defensive line is one of the best in the nation.

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Compare that to Alabama, which is wading with injuries and had minimal protection for Simpson against Georgia in the SEC title game. Currently, RB Jam Miller and tight end Josh Cuevas are recovering. Plus, left tackle LT Overton is also a game decision along with RB Kevin Riley. Factor in injuries like LB Jah-Marien-Latham and Jeremiah Beaman, and Alabama will have to be on its toes in the 1st round game.

That is another reason many still debate that Alabama shouldn’t have been in the playoffs in the first place over Notre Dame. Can we see then DeBoer switching those Crimson colors come January as Finebaum predicted?