Kalen DeBoer admits to Alabama players he’s ‘not good’ at post-loss speeches, Malachi Moore reveals

Alabama dropped to 5-2 with a 24-17 loss at Tennessee on Saturday. It’s the first time the Crimson Tide has lost two of its first seven games since 2007, Nick Saban’s first season in Tuscaloosa. It’s also just the 11th loss for Kalen DeBoer in his five-year, 53-game head coaching career at the FBS level. DeBoer doesn’t have much experience addressing his teams after losses and he told Crimson Tide players as much in the aftermath at Tennessee, Alabama defensive back Malachi Moore said.

“He told us straight up that he’s not good with speeches after losing because he never plans on us coming into the locker room after the game without being victorious,” Moore told reporters after the game. “He gets us to rally together and hone in on what is ahead of us. He pointed us to win out and attack each day. He wants us to pay attention to the little details. His main message to us was for us to stay together and be positive. Everything is still in front of us.”

Alabama fell eight spots — from No. 7 to No. 15 — in Sunday’s new AP Top 25. It’s the Crimson Tide’s lowest ranking since 2010 when the program checked in at No. 15 after a 28-27 home loss to Cam Newton and Auburn.

“These are the speeches I’m not good at,” DeBoer said. “You have to look inward first and make sure everything you’re doing is right. It eats at the vets, and we have to mesh the vets with the new guys. I don’t question the fight. I don’t question the prep. I don’t question the work that was put in. These guys came ready. There are times when we have to be able to separate ourselves and have that killer instinct. Right now, We don’t do that. … We have a locker room that’s hurting. I have no doubt in my mind that they poured everything into the preparation. Just frustrated we can’t get over the hump.”

Alabama’s College Football Playoff hopes are on thin ice after suffering its second loss of the season. The Crimson Tide is on the outside looking in, in terms of the latest CFP projection. The most recent bowl projection for DeBoer and Co. is a Gator Bowl matchup with Pittsburgh.