By Adeniyi Precious 
Mark Ingram, former Heisman winner and Alabama football legend, isn’t worried about the state of the Crimson Tide despite a rough season. After Alabama’s loss to Michigan in the ReliaQuest Bowl and finishing the season with fewer than 10 wins, fans have been questioning the program’s future. But Ingram, who helped launch the Tide’s dynasty under Nick Saban, says Alabama fans need to relax and give new head coach Kalen DeBoer some time to settle in.
“We’re fine, just let DeBoer do his thing,” Ingram said. He pointed out that Saban’s first season was also tough, but look at how that turned out. “DeBoer has a track record—he was just in a National Championship two years ago. Give him time to bring in his players and get his system in place.”
Ingram, who’s seen Alabama’s rise to dominance, is confident that the Tide will get back to their winning ways, even though a 9-win season felt like a failure to many. “Most schools would be thrilled with 9 wins,” Ingram added. “But for us, that’s just not good enough. We set the standard—18 National Championships, and no one else is close.”
So, while this season was disappointing for Alabama, Ingram believes that next year will show improvement. He’s all-in on DeBoer, saying the coach just needs a little time to build the program.