Year 2 of the Kalen DeBoer era in Tuscaloosa went better than the first, but it still ended in disappointment.
One season after going 9-4 and missing the College Football Playoff, DeBoer led the Crimson Tide to an 11-4 record and a first-round win in the CFP. But Alabama was eliminated from the tournament after an embarrassing 38-3 loss to No. 1 Indiana — the worst bowl loss in school history.
Many believe DeBoer is firmly on the hot seat heading into 2026, and he may be under even more pressure if he loses star quarterback Ty Simpson.
Most expected Simpson to enter the 2026 NFL draft, but according to college football insider Tom Loy of 247Sports, there’s also a possibility Simpson returns to college next season but enters the transfer portal and plays for one of the Tide’s top SEC rivals.
“If Ty Simpson gets a first-round grade, he’s gone to the NFL. If not, keep an eye on Tennessee and Oregon,” Loy said, via Tri-Star Network.
According to ESPN draft expert Matt Miller, there are only 11 players with true first-round grades in the 2026 class — and Simpson isn’t one of them.
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Indiana’s Heisman Trophy-winner Fernando Mendoza and Oregon signal-caller Dante Moore are the only QBs Miller gave a Round 1 grade to.
And Loy isn’t the only one to pose Simpson could hit the portal.
A little over two weeks ago, The Athletic’s Dane Brugler also questioned if Simpson and Alabama could be heading for a divorce during an episode of “The Athletic College Football Show.”
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“I do wonder if this could be a Carson Beck-like situation, where maybe it’s time for both sides to move on?” Brugler said. “Alabama has five-star Keelon Russell ready to take over. If Simpson comes back, at the very least, I think it’ll be a competition between those two.
“So, is this a situation where does he maybe go with the Beck plan, where he declares but keeps his options open, and if another team comes in and says, ‘Hey, we’ll give you a couple [of million dollars], come be our quarterback?’ To me, 13 games is just not enough [for a team to gamble on Simpson in the top 10.]”
Simpson was in the conversation to be the No. 1 overall pick as recently as a month ago. However, Mendoza and Moore have since surpassed him.
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