October 21, 2024 • 10 mins
Ryan Fowler of 100.9 The Game in Alabama joins Dave Softy Mahler and Dick Fain to talk about the struggles for new Head Coach Kalen DeBoer with another Crimson Tide loss last week, the poor quarterback play, and what fans are saying on his radio show.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
All right, let's get to it. Thank you. You know
this song means one thing and one thing only. Something
really weird on some river in the Deep South is
about to happen, or something really weird inside of Brian
Denny Stadiums where the Alabama Crimson Tide just looked terrible.
I listened to this guy's show on the way down
(00:21):
here today. Man, it was just like, oh death for
Alabama fans. There's the worst thing ever mind bring back
Slavan Joining us right now on the radio show from
the Tide in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, home of Alabama Sports, our
friend Ryan Fowler, how are you man? Uh?
Speaker 2 (00:39):
Not worth a darn? I mean to be honest with you,
It's been a rough couple of days here in Tuscaloosa.
But that's okay, that's okay. We're we're in the fielding
growing pains, growing pains, but we're gonna be okay. We're
gonna make it.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
We're gonna make it or not or not or not
or it could be a total disaster. What is uh?
How bad is it? Honestly? Like, how how bad is
the energy? How bad is the aura? Uh? What's the
fan base saying? How bad is it right now around
the program.
Speaker 2 (01:07):
It's a little bit of a challenge. I mean, I'm
not gonna lie to you. It's been a it's been
a hard twenty four to thirty six hours. But it's
one of those that I have to remind people. See,
people assume coach Nick Saban the last three or four
years was perfect and that was not the case. Listen.
I mean, this team last year was a disaster in
(01:29):
many areas, should not have been in the playoff. Alabama's
not a playoff team. So everybody just assumes Cablin of
bores walk into this perfect situation and it's just not
the that's not the truth. There's still some areas that
I'm sure that he wants to improve upon. And you know,
this team was slopping. They were they didn't perform to
the level of expectation. And I'm sure he expects from
(01:52):
this players. But everything so far. You hear the coaching staff,
we had coordinators today and also the head coach. You know,
they're saying all the right things. Let's see if they
can put it to action.
Speaker 3 (02:02):
Well, it's interesting you said last year's team was not
a playoff team, and yet they played like a playoff
team because they almost beat the national champions. I mean
they came closer to beating the national champions than the
Huskies did. And the Huskies clearly were a Final four team.
So obviously you got coaching coaching that team up, and
you're not getting it this year.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
That they're not.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
And I almost described this as I tried to tell
my audience kind of like the stepdad, the substitute teacher.
It's almost like, in some ways, college football has handcuffed
Kaylin the bull right. He can't come in and be
you know, this rough and tough, lay down the wall.
(02:44):
I'm gonna suspend it. You can't do this because of
college football. I mean, the college football rules are set
up where you just can't do that. And I think
that's where Nick Saban saw it, and that's when I
got out. I mean, I'll go to my grave saying
that Saban looked at himself and said, I can no
longer coach. You saw it last week with coach bitted
up at Virginia. I mean, it's the new system in
(03:07):
college athletics. Kaylen the boer had no other choice to
come in and be mister con god Right, the substitute teacher.
And you know, in some ways that's been perfect. In
other ways it's not fit. It's been a little bumpy.
Speaker 1 (03:18):
Yeah, well, let's start off by talking about what's wrong
down there. Jalen Miro looks terrible, absolutely terrible. I'm watching
the Alabama game over the weekend against Tennessee. I'm watching
wide open receivers on basic throws and basic routes that
he can't connect on. What the hell's wrong with your
quarterback down there? And how much of that is Kaylen
de Boor's fault or Nick Sheridan's fault according to the
(03:40):
fan base. Well, they're wrong.
Speaker 2 (03:43):
They're wrong because we blamed everybody, and everybody, okay, I
mean everybody own Jalen Milroe's shortcomings. We went back to
Bill O'Brien, remember a couple of years ago, even last year,
Jalen Milroe called him out at the Rolls Bowl. He's
still on his head. Then we blamed Tommy, we blame
Nick Saban. It's got to fall back to and now
(04:04):
we're blaming Kaitlyn the Border next year. And I say
we as a group of people, not myself individually, but
Jaylen Milroe is not the quarterback that people think he is.
He is a guy that can make you look foolish
out there. He can throw the deep ball, but he's
more of a runner. He's a guy short intermediate passes.
(04:25):
It's not even a weakness, like it's not existent when
you look at trying to take a little bit of
the mustard off the football. He has one throw and
that is the deep ball. And right now you look
at that offense, I'm sure they would love to be
able to do something a little bit different. Right they
can't run the football. They've not been as maybe in
the trenches. Last year, this team was pretty solid and
(04:46):
running the football this year not so much. The defaul
if you take it away, I don't know what you
can do from a play calling stand. I don't know
if you put him on the bench. It doesn't sound
like that judging for the press conference, that that's really
an option, and I'm not sure that it shouldn't be.
I almost think that Jaylen Milroe watching it from the sidelines,
(05:09):
letting everything slow down might be the best thing for him.
We saw him respond last year when he got benched
going to the South Florida gave it. Even though Alabama
didn't play very good, but they don't really have the
Marsha era. Now you're going into the final weekend of
October and you've already got two l's one more, and
you know you'll get ready for twenty twenty five.
Speaker 3 (05:28):
Our friend Ryan Falla joined us from tuscal looses. Alabama's
lost two of the last three and almost lost all
three of them. I mean, they had to come back
against South Carolina at home. So kind of Ryan take
us kind of through the the stages of grief over
the last three weeks, the emotions of the Alabama fan,
Like what was the grief? What was the emotion like
after Vanderbilt, then after barely beating South Carolina at home,
(05:49):
and then after losing to Tennessee.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
Well, I go back to the Vanderbilt I mean even
really got to go back to the Georgia win, right,
I mean the Georgia first half was completely I mean
I got messages from NFL guys that follow Alabama that
are former Alaba players like, man, this guy is going
to be better than what I thought.
Speaker 1 (06:07):
He was going to be.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
That first half was a taste of what Calen de
War is going to bring. The second half notes not
so much. Then, they kind of carried over into the
Vanderbilt game and it was, you know, the Seven Stages
of grief. Denial was really the anger part of it.
I mean Vanderbilt. But then I think a lot of
people looked at Vanderbilt and you say, it's Vanderbilt, but
(06:28):
this is the new college football. This is the new
college football. It's hard for people to truly wrap their
head around that Vanderbilt has a productive team and these smaller,
inferior teams in Alabama, you know, should have beat thirty
forty points.
Speaker 1 (06:44):
It's just not the case. And you transferred.
Speaker 2 (06:46):
Coaches and coordinators. I mean, that's just what it is.
So and then to go through last week South Carolina,
we started kind of making excuses, Oh, South Carolina's this,
South Carolina is this, but then it showed up in Knoxville.
It was from the get go. It was sloped from
the get go, and you know, Alabama created turnovers. But
we're have a couple of eyes on those.
Speaker 1 (07:04):
Well Ryan Fowler with us from Tusca Lousa talking about Alabama.
Uh Kaylen de boor uh is feeling the heat, no
doubt down there. So what are fans saying, like, do
they call your show and say they want him fire?
Do they want Milroe bench? Do they go after Greg Burn?
Do they go after you? Uh? What are the fans
saying on your show down there? No?
Speaker 2 (07:23):
I mean, I mean there is a few that that
are irritated at at at Kaylen the boer. They want
to see more of a you know, an intense personality.
Speaker 1 (07:32):
And he's just not that. That's not who he is.
But I'm not.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
Sure he can be that even if he wanted to
do that. Yeah, I think he's trying to keep this
locker room together with kindness and making sure that he
manages this, navigates this. You've got some idiots out here
on Facebook, uh like that compare him to some of
the previous coaches that were not successful. But you've got
that with any fan base, right, I mean it's so
(07:55):
are we ready to ship Kaylen Bore.
Speaker 1 (07:57):
Back to up? No? No, no, no.
Speaker 2 (08:00):
Listen, the future is going to work out just fine.
You guys are gonna have me all three years from
now when Alabama's getting ready to play the National title
game and you guys will be celebrating with us, not
against us. Today, you're just letting me get and be
a little part time therapist here. Yeah, I promise you
I'll be back in three years. And Alabama is getting
(08:21):
ready to play on the national title game. You guys
are just gonna have to hang loose. Man, We're gonna
be okay. It's them growing page. You're it's the hardest
job in the country. And then based on the parameters
of current college football, yeah, magnifies the level of good
difficulty for this job.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
Either. You can argue it might be the hardest job
in the history of college football to replace the greatest
coach in the history of college football. Yeah, yes, a yeah,
I don't care a right anybody else loses their mind.
You let us know. We'll have you back on the air.
All right, pal, good luck down there, go get.
Speaker 2 (08:53):
Them roll Diamond.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
I mean, are you taking enjoying this? Our Husky fans
taking joy? Jackson? Are you taking joy in this down there?
I'm right now.
Speaker 3 (09:05):
Yeah, Well, I'm I'm definitely the opposite of the grass
is always greener guy, So I I kind of laugh
at people that say the grass is always greener and
then they go and they find out that there's weeds
in the in the other yard.
Speaker 1 (09:20):
And and most people's yards sucked.
Speaker 3 (09:22):
By the way. I mean, so it does make me
chuckle a little bit that he wanted to go to
greener pastors and now he's finding out that, you know what,
things weren't that bad here at Washington.
Speaker 1 (09:31):
Well, they weren't that bad here at Washington. I also
think it's crazy to just judge it after the first
two months, right, I mean, like Bryan, so this come
back in a couple of years, three years. Always the
pressure is going to be the pressure is going to
be immense. And my whole thing with him going there
the whole time is, hey, look, you go to Michigan.
I get it. Whatever you take off for the NFL,
I get it, right. I mean, don't be the guy
(09:52):
to replace the guy. Let somebody else take the salvo.
Let somebody else take the bullets. Let somebody else be
the guinea pig, and then you cut and clean it
up later. And I I also did wonder and by
the way, just for the record, I think he'll do
fine down there. I also wondered if his personality is
the right fit for that place. Honestly, fit is the
proper word. I always worried about Michigan. I never worried
(10:15):
about the Alabama exactly. All right, we're gonna break. Will
Rogers gonna join us. Had a week off, did he
watch any football? Did he go back and watch the
Iowa game over and over and over and over again.
We'll talk to Will Rodgers' weekly visit courtesy of Mountlake Futures. Next,
we're talking dogs with a quarterback coming up.
All right, let's get to it. Thank you. You know
this song means one thing and one thing only. Something
really weird on some river in the Deep South is
about to happen, or something really weird inside of Brian
Denny Stadiums where the Alabama Crimson Tide just looked terrible.
I listened to this guy's show on the way down
(00:21):
here today. Man, it was just like, oh death for
Alabama fans. There's the worst thing ever mind bring back
Slavan Joining us right now on the radio show from
the Tide in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, home of Alabama Sports, our
friend Ryan Fowler, how are you man? Uh?
Speaker 2 (00:39):
Not worth a darn? I mean to be honest with you,
It's been a rough couple of days here in Tuscaloosa.
But that's okay, that's okay. We're we're in the fielding
growing pains, growing pains, but we're gonna be okay. We're
gonna make it.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
We're gonna make it or not or not or not
or it could be a total disaster. What is uh?
How bad is it? Honestly? Like, how how bad is
the energy? How bad is the aura? Uh? What's the
fan base saying? How bad is it right now around
the program.
Speaker 2 (01:07):
It's a little bit of a challenge. I mean, I'm
not gonna lie to you. It's been a it's been
a hard twenty four to thirty six hours. But it's
one of those that I have to remind people. See,
people assume coach Nick Saban the last three or four
years was perfect and that was not the case. Listen.
I mean, this team last year was a disaster in
(01:29):
many areas, should not have been in the playoff. Alabama's
not a playoff team. So everybody just assumes Cablin of
bores walk into this perfect situation and it's just not
the that's not the truth. There's still some areas that
I'm sure that he wants to improve upon. And you know,
this team was slopping. They were they didn't perform to
the level of expectation. And I'm sure he expects from
(01:52):
this players. But everything so far. You hear the coaching staff,
we had coordinators today and also the head coach. You know,
they're saying all the right things. Let's see if they
can put it to action.
Speaker 3 (02:02):
Well, it's interesting you said last year's team was not
a playoff team, and yet they played like a playoff
team because they almost beat the national champions. I mean
they came closer to beating the national champions than the
Huskies did. And the Huskies clearly were a Final four team.
So obviously you got coaching coaching that team up, and
you're not getting it this year.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
That they're not.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
And I almost described this as I tried to tell
my audience kind of like the stepdad, the substitute teacher.
It's almost like, in some ways, college football has handcuffed
Kaylin the bull right. He can't come in and be
you know, this rough and tough, lay down the wall.
(02:44):
I'm gonna suspend it. You can't do this because of
college football. I mean, the college football rules are set
up where you just can't do that. And I think
that's where Nick Saban saw it, and that's when I
got out. I mean, I'll go to my grave saying
that Saban looked at himself and said, I can no
longer coach. You saw it last week with coach bitted
up at Virginia. I mean, it's the new system in
(03:07):
college athletics. Kaylen the boer had no other choice to
come in and be mister con god Right, the substitute teacher.
And you know, in some ways that's been perfect. In
other ways it's not fit. It's been a little bumpy.
Speaker 1 (03:18):
Yeah, well, let's start off by talking about what's wrong
down there. Jalen Miro looks terrible, absolutely terrible. I'm watching
the Alabama game over the weekend against Tennessee. I'm watching
wide open receivers on basic throws and basic routes that
he can't connect on. What the hell's wrong with your
quarterback down there? And how much of that is Kaylen
de Boor's fault or Nick Sheridan's fault according to the
(03:40):
fan base. Well, they're wrong.
Speaker 2 (03:43):
They're wrong because we blamed everybody, and everybody, okay, I
mean everybody own Jalen Milroe's shortcomings. We went back to
Bill O'Brien, remember a couple of years ago, even last year,
Jalen Milroe called him out at the Rolls Bowl. He's
still on his head. Then we blamed Tommy, we blame
Nick Saban. It's got to fall back to and now
(04:04):
we're blaming Kaitlyn the Border next year. And I say
we as a group of people, not myself individually, but
Jaylen Milroe is not the quarterback that people think he is.
He is a guy that can make you look foolish
out there. He can throw the deep ball, but he's
more of a runner. He's a guy short intermediate passes.
(04:25):
It's not even a weakness, like it's not existent when
you look at trying to take a little bit of
the mustard off the football. He has one throw and
that is the deep ball. And right now you look
at that offense, I'm sure they would love to be
able to do something a little bit different. Right they
can't run the football. They've not been as maybe in
the trenches. Last year, this team was pretty solid and
(04:46):
running the football this year not so much. The defaul
if you take it away, I don't know what you
can do from a play calling stand. I don't know
if you put him on the bench. It doesn't sound
like that judging for the press conference, that that's really
an option, and I'm not sure that it shouldn't be.
I almost think that Jaylen Milroe watching it from the sidelines,
(05:09):
letting everything slow down might be the best thing for him.
We saw him respond last year when he got benched
going to the South Florida gave it. Even though Alabama
didn't play very good, but they don't really have the
Marsha era. Now you're going into the final weekend of
October and you've already got two l's one more, and
you know you'll get ready for twenty twenty five.
Speaker 3 (05:28):
Our friend Ryan Falla joined us from tuscal looses. Alabama's
lost two of the last three and almost lost all
three of them. I mean, they had to come back
against South Carolina at home. So kind of Ryan take
us kind of through the the stages of grief over
the last three weeks, the emotions of the Alabama fan,
Like what was the grief? What was the emotion like
after Vanderbilt, then after barely beating South Carolina at home,
(05:49):
and then after losing to Tennessee.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
Well, I go back to the Vanderbilt I mean even
really got to go back to the Georgia win, right,
I mean the Georgia first half was completely I mean
I got messages from NFL guys that follow Alabama that
are former Alaba players like, man, this guy is going
to be better than what I thought.
Speaker 1 (06:07):
He was going to be.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
That first half was a taste of what Calen de
War is going to bring. The second half notes not
so much. Then, they kind of carried over into the
Vanderbilt game and it was, you know, the Seven Stages
of grief. Denial was really the anger part of it.
I mean Vanderbilt. But then I think a lot of
people looked at Vanderbilt and you say, it's Vanderbilt, but
(06:28):
this is the new college football. This is the new
college football. It's hard for people to truly wrap their
head around that Vanderbilt has a productive team and these smaller,
inferior teams in Alabama, you know, should have beat thirty
forty points.
Speaker 1 (06:44):
It's just not the case. And you transferred.
Speaker 2 (06:46):
Coaches and coordinators. I mean, that's just what it is.
So and then to go through last week South Carolina,
we started kind of making excuses, Oh, South Carolina's this,
South Carolina is this, but then it showed up in Knoxville.
It was from the get go. It was sloped from
the get go, and you know, Alabama created turnovers. But
we're have a couple of eyes on those.
Speaker 1 (07:04):
Well Ryan Fowler with us from Tusca Lousa talking about Alabama.
Uh Kaylen de boor uh is feeling the heat, no
doubt down there. So what are fans saying, like, do
they call your show and say they want him fire?
Do they want Milroe bench? Do they go after Greg Burn?
Do they go after you? Uh? What are the fans
saying on your show down there? No?
Speaker 2 (07:23):
I mean, I mean there is a few that that
are irritated at at at Kaylen the boer. They want
to see more of a you know, an intense personality.
Speaker 1 (07:32):
And he's just not that. That's not who he is.
But I'm not.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
Sure he can be that even if he wanted to
do that. Yeah, I think he's trying to keep this
locker room together with kindness and making sure that he
manages this, navigates this. You've got some idiots out here
on Facebook, uh like that compare him to some of
the previous coaches that were not successful. But you've got
that with any fan base, right, I mean it's so
(07:55):
are we ready to ship Kaylen Bore.
Speaker 1 (07:57):
Back to up? No? No, no, no.
Speaker 2 (08:00):
Listen, the future is going to work out just fine.
You guys are gonna have me all three years from
now when Alabama's getting ready to play the National title
game and you guys will be celebrating with us, not
against us. Today, you're just letting me get and be
a little part time therapist here. Yeah, I promise you
I'll be back in three years. And Alabama is getting
(08:21):
ready to play on the national title game. You guys
are just gonna have to hang loose. Man, We're gonna
be okay. It's them growing page. You're it's the hardest
job in the country. And then based on the parameters
of current college football, yeah, magnifies the level of good
difficulty for this job.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
Either. You can argue it might be the hardest job
in the history of college football to replace the greatest
coach in the history of college football. Yeah, yes, a yeah,
I don't care a right anybody else loses their mind.
You let us know. We'll have you back on the air.
All right, pal, good luck down there, go get.
Speaker 2 (08:53):
Them roll Diamond.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
I mean, are you taking enjoying this? Our Husky fans
taking joy? Jackson? Are you taking joy in this down there?
I'm right now.
Speaker 3 (09:05):
Yeah, Well, I'm I'm definitely the opposite of the grass
is always greener guy, So I I kind of laugh
at people that say the grass is always greener and
then they go and they find out that there's weeds
in the in the other yard.
Speaker 1 (09:20):
And and most people's yards sucked.
Speaker 3 (09:22):
By the way. I mean, so it does make me
chuckle a little bit that he wanted to go to
greener pastors and now he's finding out that, you know what,
things weren't that bad here at Washington.
Speaker 1 (09:31):
Well, they weren't that bad here at Washington. I also
think it's crazy to just judge it after the first
two months, right, I mean, like Bryan, so this come
back in a couple of years, three years. Always the
pressure is going to be the pressure is going to
be immense. And my whole thing with him going there
the whole time is, hey, look, you go to Michigan.
I get it. Whatever you take off for the NFL,
I get it, right. I mean, don't be the guy
(09:52):
to replace the guy. Let somebody else take the salvo.
Let somebody else take the bullets. Let somebody else be
the guinea pig, and then you cut and clean it
up later. And I I also did wonder and by
the way, just for the record, I think he'll do
fine down there. I also wondered if his personality is
the right fit for that place. Honestly, fit is the
proper word. I always worried about Michigan. I never worried
(10:15):
about the Alabama exactly. All right, we're gonna break. Will
Rogers gonna join us. Had a week off, did he
watch any football? Did he go back and watch the
Iowa game over and over and over and over again.
We'll talk to Will Rodgers' weekly visit courtesy of Mountlake Futures. Next,
we're talking dogs with a quarterback coming up.
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