Shock: Alabama coach that coaches for long set to return as…

Blake Byler, Mathey Gibson, and Jacob Pickle are the hosts of the Alabama basketball podcast, Blue Collar Unplugged Podcast. In order to offer their own distinct reporting, viewpoints, and analysis of the Crimson Tide, the hosts founded the podcast in 2021. In the summer of 2023, the podcast made the switch to the BamaCentral broadcasting network following two seasons.

Blake, Mathey, and Jacob talk about the Crimson Tide’s incredible 2-0 week, which included victories over LSU and Auburn, and they also give a preview of the team’s next game against Georgia.

Blake Byler works as a staff writer for BamaCentral, where he mostly writes about football and basketball in Alabama. Since 2021, he has covered a broad range of Crimson Tide sports, such as baseball, softball, golf, and more. Following his graduation from The University of Alabama in 2023, he started writing full-time for BamaCentral. During his time in school, he was The Crimson White’s sports editor. He may be reached at X @blakebyler45 on Twitter.

Mathey Gibson, a senior at the University of Alabama, started working as an intern at BamaCentral in the spring of 2023. He primarily writes features but also assists with other sports coverage. He covered Alabama basketball as a staff reporter for The Crimson White during the 2022–2023 season before coming to BamaCentral. In addition, he currently writes for Braves Today and was previously a writer for Rivals’ Alabama website. He can be reached at X @Mathey_Gibson1 on Twitter.

The official student section of Alabama Athletics, Crimson Chaos, is led by senior Jacob Pickle of The University of Alabama. Prior to taking on the role of senior plaid jacket wearer, he was the organization’s vice president and treasurer. He has designed graphics for Southeastern 14 and is passionate about data analytics. He can be reached at

The Alabama football team was severely impacted by transfer portal departures after Nick Saban’s unexpected retirement and the following appointment of former Washington head coach Kalen DeBoer. Within weeks of Saban’s exit, the club had lost thirty players from the previous season. Of course, making drastic roster adjustments is not unheard of in today’s college football environment, especially when a new coach is taking over. Within weeks of signing the contract, Deion Sanders had completely changed the roster for the Colorado Buffaloes when he arrived in Boulder to take over as head coach. However, as Tuscaloosa title hopes are still high, Kalen DeBoer’s chances of carrying on the winning history would be harmed by any and all loses to the transfer site.

Thankfully for DeBoer, quarterback Jalen Milroe is one player who chose to remain at Alabama rather than use the transfer portal. Milroe had a rough start to the 2023 season, but by the end of the campaign, he had stabilized and become a strong contender for the Heisman Trophy. Now, Milroe explained why, as opposed to using the transfer site to choose a new residence, he intends to return to Alabama for the 2024 season.

Jalen Milroe stated, “I still want to accomplish a lot of things at Alabama,” according to Jamie Hale of ABC3340 in Birmingham (via Brad Crawford of 247Sports). “I put my signature on my intent to attend the University of Alabama.” It all comes down to remaining here and creating. The bunch of guys in the changing room is excellent. Extremely looking forward to our football team’s future. Coach DeBoer and the rest of the coaching staff are a welcome addition.