ATLANTA — Four years without a national championship feels like a severe drought for veteran Alabama players.Similarly, one year of missing the College Football Playoff has second-year coach Kalen DeBoer feeling the pressure to restore the Crimson Tide’s status as one of the nation’s top teams in 2025.When asked Wednesday at the Southeastern Conference media days if a 9-4 finish in his 2024 debut season met the Alabama standard, DeBoer said: “I mean, if you internally ask us, no. We fell short of making the playoffs. It’s as simple as that, right? Giving yourself a chance to go compete for a championship.”DeBoer’s task is especially difficult because he’s the coach who followed Nick Saban, who led Alabama to its last national championship in 2020. It was Alabama’s sixth championship under Saban since 2009.Junior offensive tackle Kadyn Proctor said Wednesday the Crimson Tide players have endured a painful wait to reach the standard set by Saban.“For the whole team honestly we obviously know that we haven’t won a championship in a long time,” Proctor said. “And that’s everybody’s goal at the end of the season.”Included in Alabama’s 9-4 season under DeBoer was a 5-3 SEC mark that included road losses at Vanderbilt, Tennessee and Oklahoma. Alabama was No. 17 in the final AP Top 25 following a 19-13 loss to Michigan in the ReliaQuest Bowl in Tampa, Florida.DeBoer, who coached the 2023 Washington team to the national championship game, …
