Alabama football coach Kalen DeBoer did something on Saturday night that put him in rare company among Crimson Tide coaches in school history.
DeBoer beat rival Auburn in his first game at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementTo be clear, Alabama's clutch 27-20 win over the Tigers in the 90th edition of the Iron Bowl is far, far more noteworthy for keeping the SEC championship and College Football Playoff hopes alive for the Crimson Tide (10-2, No. 10 CFP). But it put DeBoer in a class that contains only one other coach in Alabama history.
The company DeBoer joined doesn't include Gene Stallings or even Nick Saban, the most successful coach to roam the sidelines in Tuscaloosa since at least Paul "Bear" Bryant retired following his final season in 1982.
The only other coach in Alabama history to win his first game at Auburn was Dennis Franchione in 2001. Franchione's team entered that year's Iron Bowl as a heavy underdog at 4-5 overall.
But behind a stellar afternoon from quarterback Andrew Zow and running backs Santonio Beard and Ahmaad Galloway, Alabama racked up 549 yards of total offense in a 31-7 rout of Auburn, which entered the day 7-2 and ranked No. 17 in the top 25 polls.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementZow threw for 221 yards and two touchdown passes, including a 10-yard strike to tight end Terry Jones Jr. early in the fourth quarter that put the game out of reach.
Beard ran for 199 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries, including a 47-yard run on just the second play from scrimmage to start the second half. Galloway added 127 rushing yards on 14 carries.
Unlike 24 years ago, DeBoer's win at Jordan-Hare Stadium carries far more weight in the college football landscape entering conference championship week.
Alabama will face the Georgia Bulldogs (11-1) in the 2025 SEC title game Saturday at 3 p.m. CT, with the winner guaranteed a first-round bye in the College Football Playoff. Alabama-Georgia will be televised on ABC.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementKalen DeBoer, Nick Saban, and other Alabama football coaches' records vs Auburn at Jordan-Hare Stadium
AUBURN, ALABAMA - NOVEMBER 25: Head coach Nick Saban of the Alabama Crimson Tide walks off the field after their 27-24 win over the Auburn Tigers at Jordan-Hare Stadium on November 25, 2023 in Auburn, Alabama. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)Here's a look at how every Alabama coach has fared in his first game vs. Auburn at Jordan-Hare Stadium since the series shifted away from Legion Field exclusively beginning in 1989.
Bill Curry
Date: Dec. 2, 1989
Coaches: Bill Curry (Alabama), Pat Dye (Auburn)
Record Entering Iron Bowl: Alabama (10-0), Auburn (8-2)
Ranking: Alabama (No. 2), Auburn (No. 11)
Result: Auburn 30, Alabama 20
Curry was 0-1 in his only game as Alabama's coach at Jordan-Hare, the first to be played there. He famously went 0-3 against Auburn during his stint in Tuscaloosa from 1987-89.
Gene Stallings
Date: Nov. 20, 1993
Coaches: Gene Stallings (Alabama), Terry Bowden (Auburn)
Record Entering Iron Bowl: Alabama (8-1-1), Auburn (10-0)
Ranking: Alabama (No. 11), Auburn (No. 6)
Result: Auburn 22, Alabama 14
Gene Stallings compiled a 5-2 record against Auburn in his seven seasons as Alabama's coach from 1990-96, a solid winning percentage against the Tide's in-state rival. He lost both games at Jordan-Hare, in 1993 and '95.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementMike DuBose
Date: Nov. 22, 1997
Coaches: Mike DuBose (Alabama), Terry Bowden (Auburn)
Record Entering Iron Bowl: Alabama (4-6), Auburn (8-2)
Ranking: Alabama (unranked), Auburn (No. 13)
Result: Auburn 18, Alabama 17
Ironically, for all his faults as coach from 1997-2000, DuBose has the distinction of being the first Crimson Tide skipper to win at Auburn. Alabama's 28-17 win to close the 1999 regular season sent the Tide to Atlanta for the SEC Championship Game. The Tide routed Steve Spurrier's Florida Gators, 34-7, to win the SEC title.
DuBose was fired less than a year later amid a 3-4 start to the 2000 season, one that began with Alabama ranked No. 3 in the preseason polls. He was 2-2 in four games vs. Auburn.
Dennis Franchione
Date: Nov. 17, 2001
Coaches: Dennis Franchione (Alabama), Tommy Tuberville (Auburn)
Record Entering Iron Bowl: Alabama (9-2), Auburn (7-4)
Ranking: Alabama (unranked), Auburn (No. 17)
Result: Alabama 31, Auburn 7
The joy of Alabama's surprise blowout win over Auburn was short-lived. Months later, the NCAA hammered the Crimson Tide with historic sanctions that would cripple the program for the next five years. In the 2002 Iron Bowl, with the roles reversed and the Tigers an underdog, the Crimson Tide fell in a 17-7 upset. Franchione already had one foot out the door, jilting Alabama for Texas A&M.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementMike Shula
Date: Nov. 22, 2003
Coaches: Mike Shula (Alabama), Tommy Tuberville (Auburn)
Record Entering Iron Bowl: Alabama (4-7), Auburn (6-5)
Ranking: Alabama (unranked), Auburn (unranked)
Result: Auburn 28, Alabama 23
Shula's Alabama teams kept things close in the Iron Bowl, losing only one game by two scores. But his 0-4 record against Auburn at the end of the 2006 season was the final blow in an already bleak future in Tuscaloosa. Thankfully, Shula's replacement fared much better.
Nick Saban
Date: Nov. 24, 2007
Coaches: Nick Saban (Alabama), Tommy Tuberville (Auburn)
Record Entering Iron Bowl: Alabama (6-5), Auburn (7-4)
Ranking: Alabama (unranked), Auburn (No. 25)
Result: Auburn 17, Alabama 10
Nick Saban may have called Jordan-Hare Stadium "haunted" -- and who could possibly blame him? -- but his 5-4 record on The Plains was better than any of his predecessors. Saban was 12-5 overall in the Iron Bowl during his historic 17 seasons in Tuscaloosa.
Kalen DeBoer
Date: Nov. 29, 2025
Coaches: Kalen DeBoer (Alabama), D.J. Durkin (Auburn)
Record Entering Iron Bowl: Alabama (9-2), Auburn (5-6)
Ranking: Alabama (No. 10), Auburn (unranked)
Result: Alabama 27, Auburn 20
Alabama's 27-20 win over Auburn in the 90th edition of the Iron Bowl wasn't for the faint of heart, but it kept the Crimson Tide's season alive and punched a trip to Atlanta for a rematch against Georgia in the SEC title game. Alabama controls its own destiny from here.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementFollow us @RollTideWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook for ongoing coverage of Alabama Crimson Tide news, notes and opinions.
This article originally appeared on Roll Tide Wire: Alabama football coach Kalen DeBoer in rare company with win at Auburn
AdvertisementAdvertisement