Oct 11, 2025; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Kalen Deboer reacts during the second half against the Missouri Tigers at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Reese Strickland-Imagn Images ORG XMIT: IMAGN-1284019 ORIG FILE ID: 20251011_ajw_ax4_082.jpg

Kalen DeBoer is a solid football coach, but the leader of the No. 8 Alabama football team might actually have a good-luck charm: his black hoodie. It's a simple article of clothing with "ALABAMA" printed across the front, but it might be the extra push this good but sometimes inconsistent Crimson Tide team needs to win.

Whether DeBoer actually believes it's good luck remains unknown. But following Alabama's tense victory against No. 14 Missouri on Saturday in Columbia, as ESPN's Peter Burns noted, DeBoer now boasts a 13-2 record with the Crimson Tide when he's wearing his black hoodie. That's quite a record.

As Burns and On3 previously noted, DeBoer entered the Alabama-Missouri game with a 12-2 record with the Crimson Tide in his black hoodie.

Now, of course, the correlation between DeBoer's clothing choice and Alabama's wins could be nonexistent. This could all be — and most likely is, honestly — just a huge coincidence.

But DeBoer's black hoodie magic caught the attention of Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz, who chimed in during DeBoer's media teleconference this week to ask about it. Drinkwitz said:

“Hey, Kalen. Are you gonna wear the black hoodie of death on the sideline this game with us wearing black jerseys?”

And naturally, DeBoer didn't give a conclusive answer even though he ended up wearing his "black hoodie of death" against the Tigers on Saturday.

“Oh, Coach Drink,” DeBoer chuckled. “I’ve got to fit in somehow. I'm more than likely — we’ll see what the forecast is. I kind of know, but yeah, I’m expecting that. So it’s got its own life of its own right now. So, we’re rolling with it.”

Believe what you want, but maybe DeBoer's black hoodie does have something special about it.

This article originally appeared on For The Win: Kalen DeBoer's 'black hoodie of death' might be Alabama's lucky charm

Reporting by Michelle R. Martinelli, For The Win / For The Win

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