Kalen DeBoer’s Alabama is preparing for its Iron Bowl Game against Auburn on Saturday. The Crimson Tide is the favorite to pick up a win in the game, with their 2025 season’s record standing at 9-2. Meanwhile, DeBoer has not been in a hot seat this season, but his name has surfaced as a top contender for the Penn State head coaching role after James Franklin’s firing.
After Alabama’s 56-0 win over Eastern Illinois last week, rumors started to circulate that DeBoer might consider leaving for Penn State if the school pushes hard enough.
Sports Insider Provides An Update on Kalen DeBoer’s Penn State Rumor
On ESPN’s “College GameDay Podcast,” sports analysts Rece Davis, Pete Thamel, and Dan Wetzel discussed Week 13 and spoke on DeBoer’s potential as Penn State’s next head coach.
“To me, the biggest enigma of who they are going to unveil,” Thamel said. “They really thought they could land one of these, like playoff-type coaches. I’d be pretty stunned if they did. That doesn’t seem like any of that is lining up. There were a lot of Kalen DeBoer rumors. I’ve been told those are not true. But where they go, it’s going to be really interesting.”
On3 analyst Chris Low dismissed the idea that DeBoer would leave Alabama for Penn State, and even Penn State alum Landon Tengwall called the rumor baseless.
Meanwhile, SEC analyst Paul Finebaum also slammed the speculation during his Monday appearance on “McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning”: “I know this will be a good time for me to get on a soapbox and give a manifesto on the absolute pathetic state of sports reporting and journalism,” Finebaum said.
“You can’t even blame message boards anymore, because I haven’t seen one so long, I don’t really know what they look like. But, it’s just somebody putting something out, and then somebody asking you guys a question or me, and then somebody reporting it as, ‘Oh, Kalen DeBoer’s leaving.’ I have never heard one ounce of concrete information that indicates Kalen DeBoer is going anywhere,” Finebaum added.
After succeeding Nick Saban in 2024, DeBoer faced scrutiny after failing to make the playoffs in his first year. The criticism grew louder when the Crimson Tide suffered a 31-17 loss to Florida State in the 2025 season-opening game.
However, the concerns seem to have been put to rest, as DeBoer’s squad has phenomenally bounced back since then, with only one loss to Oklahoma on Nov. 15. The PFSN College FPM gives Alabama a 79.57% chance of making the College Football Playoff.
