“I don’t want us thinking that way” - Alabama HC Kalen DeBoer makes his thoughts clear about expanded playoffs

The College Football Playoff will be expanding to 12 teams in Kalen DeBoer’s first season at Alabama, leaving the four-team playoff era behind. The expansion has been seen as a favorable development for teams like the Crimson Tide that now need less effort to make the playoffs.

Nonetheless, DeBoer does not want his team to take their thoughts in that way ahead of the 2024 college football season. The coach is driving the Crimson Tide toward believing in the importance of every game and how it can help them secure a great seed in the playoffs.

“I don’t want us thinking that way,” DeBoer said. "I want us to think about every game, the significance of it, and how important it is to us landing at a great spot and getting a potential first-round bye the playoffs. And so that, to me, is what we’ll be attacking and what we’ll be working for.”

Kalen DeBoer disregarding how a 12-team playoff format makes things easier

With more teams participating in the College Football Playoff, the chance of upsets definitely increased. Kalen DeBoer sees more room for error in the new playoffs, especially if the landing spot in the seeding is not good enough, which makes every game important.

“You want to be the highest seed that you possibly can. And so every single game, still, to me is very important,” DeBoer said at the SEC spring meetings in Destin. “It isn’t just always about making the playoffs. It’s about winning in the playoffs and winning a championship.

“And so everything that goes into that matters when it comes to each and every game. So, I don’t like to think that you have a little wiggle room because more teams are in the playoffs."

In the new playoff system, the top four seeds receive a bye while the remaining eight get involved in the first round. DeBoer will be hoping his team ends up among the top four teams next season to avoid the early round, placing them in a good position for the title.

Can Kalen DeBoer lead Alabama to the national title in 2024?

Kalen DeBoer led Washington to the national championship game against Michigan last season. It was just his second season with the Huskies after inheriting a struggling program in Seattle.

This pretty much shows DeBoer has the credentials to challenge for the national championship with an established program like Alabama. However, a head coaching job with such pedigree comes with a lot of pressure and it is to be seen how he navigates that.