Nick Saban preaches patience after Alabama’s season opener; Paul Finebaum, Stephen A. Smith chime in

For the first time since 2001, Alabama football has started the season with an 0-1 record.

And while there is still plenty of football to be played this season, it seems like everyone has an opinion on what happens next for the Crimson Tide, including former coach Nick Saban.

The Hall of Fame coach is now an analyst on ESPN and while he expressed his disappointment in the Tide’s performance, he also said he expects there to be plenty of improvement moving forward.

“Obviously for me, and for a lot of the Bama fans, the disappointment that Florida State dominated the line of scrimmage of both sides of the ball… But the good news is every team has the best opportunity to improve from Week 1 to Week 2. Because really going into the season, you don’t really know what you have for sure as a coach. You’re always very anxious about what you might happen in the first game.”

Nick Saban on ESPN

Saban, who picked Alabama to win the game during Saturday’s College Gameday show, went 17-0 in season openers which included 12 wins away from Tuscaloosa.

The former Tide coach expects to see improvement over the next two weeks when Alabama hosts ULM and Wisconsin before a bye week precedes the start of SEC play. But not everyone is on board with the coach’s thought process.

‘These guys are soft’

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As usual, Alabama’s loss dominated the national college football headlines for most of the weekend.

There were three top-10 matchups but anytime the Crimson Tide has lost over the last 15 years, it’s been a big deal. (That’s why every team to beat Alabama since 2010 has stormed the field.)

So come Monday morning, everyone wanted to share their opinion of what went wrong for the Crimson Tide + what comes next.

Stephen A. Smith is known for his hot, and usually loud, takes but many Alabama fans probably agree with what he had to say after Florida State’s win.

“I don’t believe in (DeBoer). I just don’t. I’m not in any way implying that the man can’t coach. I know he’s won everywhere he’s been… But, he’s the successor to Nick Saban. And what Nick Saban established in terms of culture, it’s gone. These guys are soft compared to the teams we saw coached by Nick Saban.”

Stephen A. Smith on First Take

Paul Finebaum slightly echoed that sentiment when he was on Get Up on ESPN on Monday. He said the return of Nick Saban may be the only way for the Crimson Tide to recover.

“That would be fact. Bring him back. Get him off the GameDay set, bring him back today. Don’t waste a moment.”

Paul Finebaum

Toughness and effort became the most criticized points during Alabama’s loss to Florida State, specifically on the defensive side of the ball. The Crimson Tide allowed 230 rushing yards and four touchdowns on the ground, the most Alabama has allowed in a game since 2021.

While sharing the desk with Finebaum, another ESPN analyst went far enough to say that DeBoer is now on the hot seat and his job could be in jeopardy before the end of the season.

“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?’ They look like a shell of what Nick Saban had built them to become.”

Dan Orlovsky, ESPN analyst

What are your thoughts on the future of Alabama football? Can DeBoer turn things around this season?

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