Stephen A. Smith not happy with Alabama football

Yahoo Sports1h ago22 min readOriginal source →

TL;DR

Stephen A. Smith criticized Alabama football's performance under Kalen DeBoer and expressed dissatisfaction with the coach's recent seven-year contract extension worth $12.5 million per season.

Key points

Stephen A. Smith criticized Alabama football's performance
Smith is not impressed with Kalen DeBoer's contract extension
DeBoer's extension is worth $12.5 million per season
The extension lasts for seven years
Smith shared his thoughts on ESPN's 'First Take'

Mentioned in this story

Alabama footballStephen A. SmithKalen DeBoer

Stephen A. Smith not happy with Alabama football

Longtime ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith isn't sold on Alabama football's performance under Kalen DeBoer, nor its recent seven-year contract extension for the coach.

Smith, who also hosts his own political and sports talk radio call-in shows on SiriusXM and dabbles part-time in acting on the long-running ABC soap opera 'General Hospital,' shared his thoughts on DeBoer's new extension during Thursday's edition of "First Take."

The extension will see DeBoer earn $12.5 million per season, and Smith isn't impressed.

"I'm not moved. I'm not moved. I'm certainly not failing to acknowledge that he's a good coach (and) that he has succeeded in most places he has been. But I was spoiled by Nick Saban, and I know everybody can't be Nick Saban, but you didn't have to fall off and lose as many games in your two seasons at Alabama that (Saban) lost in his last four years at Alabama combined."

Alabama is 20-8 since DeBoer left Washington for the Crimson Tide job after Saban retired in January 2024. Alabama finished 9-4 in 2024 and missed the College Football Playoff in no small part due to a disastrous late-season loss at Oklahoma.

The Crimson Tide were back in the CFP a year ago following a 10-win regular season, but they lost two of their final three games by a combined 66-10 margin. Alabama fell to the Georgia Bulldogs, 28-7, in an SEC title game rematch on Dec. 6 in Atlanta and suffered a 38-3 blowout loss to national champion at the Rose Bowl in the CFP quarterfinals on Jan. 1.