Alabama football hired a coach who doesn’t really lose in November.

Kalen DeBoer has coached 15 games in November over two seasons at Fresno State, two seasons at Washington and now two November games at Alabama. DeBoer has only lost one of those matchups; He’s 14-1 over those 15 games.

His only loss? A 40-14 loss to Boise State during the 2021 season when DeBoer was coaching Fresno State.

What’s the key to DeBoer’s success in November? He discussed it Monday as Alabama (8-2, 4-2 SEC) prepares to face Oklahoma (5-5, 1-5) on Saturday (6:30 p.m., ESPN) in Norman, Oklahoma.

“Always about improving,” DeBoer said. “I think there’s an offseason element to it, where you’re really putting in the work to be able to be strong going into the season, but then there’s an in-season program to where we’re continuing to get stronger as a football team.”

DeBoer said there can be adjustments made to the day-to-day schedule this far into the season to help stay fresh.

“We’re building more and more reps as we play each game, and so it’s five minutes maybe is all, that you take off of practice,” DeBoer said. “Our guys are working extremely hard in the weight room. Our numbers would show we’re getting stronger there. Then I think the other part just goes … we call it relentless pursuit of continuous improvement. As you improve, it leads to the rewards that you get in November. These are the big games, these are the ones that are fun to be a part of. The ones that you remember well down the road, as long as they go the right way.”

After the Oklahoma game, Alabama will close out the season and the month against Auburn in the Iron Bowl at Bryant-Denny Stadium. If those two games go the way the Crimson Tide hopes, DeBoer will be 16-1 in November games.

Nick Kelly is an Alabama beat writer for AL.com and the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X and Instagram.