Cam Newton was quite happy to see Alabama struggle and is glad coach Kalen DeBoer is around for the Crimson Tide. The former Auburn quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner was smiling ear to ear Monday morning on ESPN.

Safe to say, the hate is still real for Newton, who beat Alabama in a legendary Iron Bowl performance in 2010. DeBoer, since starting 4-0 last season, is 5-5 since then.

Not to mention the uncharacteristic losses to unranked teams, DeBoer is facing immense pressure after Week 1. But if Newton has his way, DeBoer won’t be going anywhere anytime soon.

“I’m actually happy, you know, that that other school is actually losing so, I mean, it’s fine by me,” Newton said on First Take. “If you ask me, I hope they keep coach DeBoer, because we have chances now, you know, in Auburn. Now this is the thing that you must understand from all SEC schools, I don’t understand why they keep doing it and continue to do it at top tier SEC schools. Stop hiring coaches that (do not) not understand the value, the marketability, the expectations of what it’s like to play and coach in the SEC. 

“We’ve seen it happen too many times. Coach DeBoer, great coach. But in Washington, homie, it’s still a different in T-Town, dog. The level of expectation is, is, is almost, you know, crippling for us to really say, like, we lost? What? You have kids that have grown up that only know SEC championship, championship, SEC championship, national championship, SEC championship, national championship. So now as adults, we have pull. Now we get to say we don’t want you, because you don’t understand this.”

College football analyst Josh Pate believes firing the coach is a preposterous stance to take, especially at this point in DeBoer’s tenure. However, he also acknowledged that DeBoer is now feeling some added pressure that wasn’t there to begin the season.

“I woke up this morning and, against my better judgment, I pulled up my Twitter account and there it was: ‘Fire Kalen DeBoer,’” Pate said on Josh Pate’s College Football Show. “First thing I saw, all caps of course. Here’s my takeaway from that. Obviously, no. That’s not the way the world works. Even if they wanted to fire him, they can’t. In no world should you be talking about firing Kalen DeBoer. However, it is serious gut-check time for him and for that program.”