Alabama hires Kalen DeBoer from Washington

By Christopher Kamrani, Bruce Feldman, Kennington Smith III and Chris Vannini

The man chosen to succeed the greatest college football coach in the history of the sport comes from rural South Dakota, which some Crimson Tide fanatics have certainly never heard of. At least until the last 72 hours.

Kalen DeBoer, known within the industry as a program builder and digger, told his Washington staff that he is accepting an offer from Alabama for Nick Saban's former coaching job, team sources confirmed Friday. DeBoer met with his Washington team on Friday afternoon to explain why he is making the move, the sources said.

The news of the appointment was officially announced by Alabama on Friday evening.

“Following Coach Saban is an honor,” DeBoer said in a school statement. “He has been the benchmark for college football and his success is unprecedented. I would not have left Washington for just any school. The opportunity to lead the football program at the University of Alabama is the opportunity of a lifetime.”

DeBoer, 49, went 25-3 in two years in Washington and led the Huskies out of the frustrations of a 4-8 campaign under a previous coaching regime in 2021. Saban, who won six national championships while in charge of the program , the sports world was shocked on Wednesday afternoon when it was announced that he would retire at the age of 72.

DeBoer, Washington and its newfound fan base were less than 48 hours removed from the heartache of a 34-13 loss to Michigan in the College Football Playoff national championship Monday night in Houston.

“Kalen DeBoer has been an outstanding leader of our football program and what he accomplished in two seasons at Montlake will forever be a part of our storied history,” Washington athletic director Troy Dannen said. “We are sad to see him go and we have done everything we can to keep Kalen at UW.”

While the pool of candidates to replace Saban ranged from former trusted assistants like Texas' Steve Sarkisian to those who trained under him like Oregon's Dan Lanning, the list slowly narrowed during the fast-track process undertaken by Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne .

On Thursday morning, Lanning — a former graduate assistant under Saban — announced on social media that he was staying in Eugene. Sarkisian is close to finalizing a contract extension to stay with Texas.

Ultimately, it came down to DeBoer, Florida State head coach Mike Norvell and Alabama offensive coordinator Tommy Rees. Earlier Friday, Norvell and FSU agreed to a new deal.

In DeBoer, Byrne went with what some might consider an unconventional hire, a man who has never coached in the SEC. At some point this fall, DeBoer hired college football coaching super agent Jimmy Sexton, who represents the majority of coaches in the SEC, including Saban.

“Coach DeBoer has proven he is a winner and has done a fantastic job as a head coach at each of his stops,” Byrne said Friday. “One of the things I said to our team recently is we're going to get someone who is not only a great coach with the X's and Os, but someone who cares about his players and someone I want my sons to play against to play.” because, just like I wanted them to play for Coach Saban. We have that in Coach DeBoer.”

As we've seen over the past two days, several dominoes had to topple in Byrne's direction, all the way to Seattle to find his Saban successor.

There will be no rebuilding or extraction from the deep for DeBoer in Tuscaloosa. This is strictly speaking a battle for the national titles that he has to win every year. In Washington, DeBoer installed an offense that became the most entertaining in the sport in 2023, highlighted by a Heisman Trophy finalist quarterback in Michael Penix Jr., three future NFL wideouts and the nation's best offensive line.

“I think it has to do with how he is built,” former Washington coach Chris Petersen said last month when asked what makes DeBoer such a great coach.

“Kalen is strong in his beliefs. He knows what he wants to do. He is calm. He's ready. “So-and-so just got hurt. So-and-so is being transferred.” I know it bothers him. But it's not the end of the world, and it's fluid,” Petersen continued. “Like how do we continue to adapt and adapt? Those are the things that really stand out to me. Yes, he is a very good attacking mind. Yes, he is a good organizer. As far as I'm concerned, that's lower on the totem pole of what makes him special.”

DeBoer was hired in November 2021 after two years at the helm at Fresno State, where he went 12-6 and tutored future NFL quarterback Jake Haener. From 2005 to 2009, he won three NAIA national titles with Sioux Falls and led the program in the title game all five years. From 2010 to 2019, DeBoer bounced around the country at various levels as an offensive coordinator from Southern Illinois (2010-2013), Eastern Michigan (2014-2016), Fresno State (2017-2018) and Indiana (2019).

At every stop, DeBoer's offensive philosophy, based on capitalizing on open space for playmakers and freedom for the quarterback, was among the top in the country.

“I think there is a basis for what the system is, but it has a lot of flexibility to be able to grow and evolve. It will always be near our staff. It will be quarterback-driven,” DeBoer said The Athletics before the Sugar Bowl Texas won. “The quarterback will be able to take us as far as he can with his skills and his understanding of the offense. But ultimately it will work around the players we have. We've done it with the strength of our team as the tight ends, we've done it with the strength of our team as the running backs, the receivers, we've had success in a lot of different ways.

Over the past two years, the Huskies went 10-1 against Top 25 teams. DeBoer is 12-2 all-time against ranked opponents. He was also dominant against his contemporaries in the sport and some who were in the mix for the Alabama job. He was 3-0 against Lanning, 2-0 against Sarkisian and 1-0 against USC's Lincoln Riley.

Washington was the No. 1 passing offense in the country in 2023 and 12th overall in total offense. Despite Alabama also qualifying for the College Football Playoff, the Crimson Tide offense was not what it had been in recent years. It ranked 56th in total offense and 68th in passing offense.

Before the national title game, Washington defensive lineman Faatui Tuitele said The Athletics that DeBoer fixed a broken locker room.

“Our culture was really damaged at that time, but then Coach DeBoer came along,” he said. “Everything was so great. He really changed our culture for the better.”

At Alabama, the culture is Nick Saban and he has been competing for titles since 2007. But those who know DeBoer well believe he is uniquely suited for such circumstances.

“Kalen has a humble swagger,” said a former Washington staffer who spoke on condition of anonymity. “His temperament is very unique. He doesn't swear. It stays very stable all the time.”

What will Alabama look like under DeBoer?

Recruiting and retaining Alabama's roster is a top priority, as evidenced by wide receiver Isaiah Bond entering the transfer portal on Friday. The best way for DeBoer to do that is to build his coaching staff with the same urgency as he did in the head coaching search.

The first question is which of Alabama's current coaches will retain DeBoer? Offensive coordinator Tommy Rees, who interviewed for the head coaching job this week, is of particular interest and secondary coach Travaris Robinson, a valuable assistant and recruiter within the Southern footprint, is likely a high-priority coach for DeBoer to retain.

There are three assistant coaching positions vacant: wide receivers, outside linebackers and defensive coordinator. The wide receiver position may be the most important position to fill, as securing that position as quickly as possible will improve Alabama's chances of regaining the commitment of 2024 five-star Ryan Williams, who decommitted from Alabama during the retirement of Saban and signs during the late signing. day in February.

Overall, finalizing the coaching staff and mobilizing it to retain the current roster and begin recruiting the class of 2025 is DeBoer's first major assignment as Alabama's coach.

What's next for Washington?

As for what's in store for Washington, it remains to be seen if DeBoer brings offensive coordinator and longtime coaching partner Ryan Grubb to Tuscaloosa. Ironically, Saban offered Grubb the offensive coordinator position last offseason, but Grubb turned it down to see how far the 2023 Huskies could go.

Regardless of whether Grubb moves on, Washington will be a different team next season. A slew of stars are leaving, including Penix and wide receiver Rome Odunze, although former Mississippi State quarterback Will Rogers has transferred. UW also heads to the Big Ten, where the competition will be tougher and the Huskies will be at a financial disadvantage. , without receiving a full conference share.

Grubb would be an easy internal promotion. Possible outside names include Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell, Arizona head coach Jedd Fisch, Kansas head coach Lance Leipold, Texas defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski, BYU head coach Kalani Sitake, Cal head coach Justin Wilcox, San Jose State head coach Brent Brennan, Washington State head coach Jake Dickert, former Auburn/Boise State head coach Bryan Harsin and New Mexico head coach Bronco Mendenhall.

But new athletics director Troy Dannen just came to Seattle from Tulane in October, meaning this search could go in any number of directions.

Required reading

(Photo: Alika Jenner/Getty Images)