Alabama football sits in a national-championship drought.

Just ask left tackle Kadyn Proctor.

“We know we haven’t won a championship in a long time,” Proctor said Wednesday at SEC Media Days.

Yes, it’s only been five years, but that might as well be 50 in Tide years. Until now, Alabama had not gone more than three years without winning a title since the gap between Gene Stallings’ last title in 1992 and Nick Saban’s first in 2009.

Saban won his last in 2020, and Alabama hasn’t won another since. The Crimson Tide also hasn’t been back to the game since the 2021 season.

For most programs, that’s nothing. But Alabama isn’t most programs. The Crimson Tide has legitimate national-championship-or-bust expectations, even if Saban is no longer the coach.

So Alabama is working to win another one. The first step: Make the playoff field to have a chance to win it. The Crimson Tide didn’t do that in 2024, struggling to pair big wins with consistency. As a result, Alabama didn’t make the first 12-team College Football Playoff.

That measuring stick is the same one coach Kalen DeBoer used. A reporter asked him Wednesday if Alabama lived up to the ‘Bama standard in his first year.

“I mean, if you internally ask us, no,” DeBoer said. “We fell short of making the playoffs. It’s as simple as that, right? Giving yourself a chance to go compete for a championship.”

Alabama wasn’t far off from making the playoffs. Lose one fewer game, and the Crimson Tide would have all but certainly been in. But against Vanderbilt, Alabama couldn’t shake its hangover from the colossal win over Georgia. Then, the Crimson Tide decided to overlook a struggling Oklahoma team. Alabama lost by a touchdown or less in three of the four losses.

“We’ve got to be better in the big moments,” DeBoer said. “We lost some close games last year. We had chances maybe not even in the fourth quarter, but early in the game to separate ourselves or make a play here or there. Whether it was the belief or whether it was the confidence, a lot of that just comes through repetitions.”

DeBoer and Alabama worked this offseason to figure out not only where Alabama fell short in losses but also the why. Why Alabama struggled to turn a fourth-quarter lead over Tennessee into a win. Why Alabama had to play from behind against Vanderbilt. Why Alabama played uninspiring football against Oklahoma.

“I’m excited about our guys taking those next steps, understanding when we get in those moments this year, those critical times, how to come through and make the play that’s necessary to go win football games,” DeBoer said.

In-game moments are only part of it. They’re often the byproduct, not the source. Proctor pointed to preparation as key to fixing issues from previous losses.

“Maybe sometimes we’re a little lax in that game week, and we’ve talked about that as a group,” Proctor said. “As an offensive line group, as the whole offensive group, we’ve said it needs to be more focused and intent on game weeks.”

That preparation can’t start Thursdays. It must begin after 24 hours have passed.

“You put it behind you and you focus on what you need to focus on for that week,” Proctor said, “going day in and day out, not worrying about the future.”

Do that, and maybe just maybe the future will include winning another national championship. The drought has gone on long enough. After all, Tide years without championships are like dog years.

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