Kalen DeBoer could be heading from Washington to Alabama.
The coach who led Washington to an undefeated regular season and a national championship appearance against Michigan is the school's target to become Nick Saban's successor with the Crimson Tide according to Yahoo Sports' Ross Dellenger. Saban retired Wednesday after a 17-year run at Alabama that included six national championships and a winning percentage just north of 87%.
DeBoer’s record as a head coach rivals Saban’s, though he’s coached far fewer years at the top level of college football. Washington went 25-3 in his two seasons at the school after Fresno State went 12-6 in 2020 and 2021 in his first two years in charge of an FBS program.
Overall, DeBoer’s teams have gone 104-12 in his time as a head coach. Before becoming an assistant at Southern Illinois in 2010, DeBoer was the head coach at NAIA Sioux Falls from 2005-2009. Sioux Falls went 67-3 in DeBoer’s five years in charge and had three undefeated seasons. The team lost just one Great Plans Athletic Conference game during his tenure and went undefeated in conference play over his last four seasons.
Before coaching at Fresno State, the South Dakota native served as the offensive coordinator at Eastern Michigan from 2014-16, ran the offense at Fresno State for two seasons and was the offensive coordinator at Indiana in 2019.
Both he and Michael Penix Jr. were with the Hoosiers that season and Penix was one of the first transfer additions DeBoer made when he became Washington’s head coach. After a college career that had been marred by knee injuries, Penix became one of the best quarterbacks in college football over the past two seasons. After completing 65% of his passes and throwing for 4,641 yards in 2022, Penix was the Heisman runner-up in 2023 as Washington went 13-0 on the way to a Pac-12 title and spot in the College Football Playoff.
At Alabama, DeBoer takes over an offense that returns QB Jalen Milroe for 2024. Milroe was benched at the start of the 2023 season after throwing two interceptions in a Week 2 loss to Texas. After getting his starting job back in Week 4, Milroe improved as the season went on and his combination of deep passing ability and speed to escape the pocket made him a dangerous player for opposing defenses.
If there’s a knock against DeBoer, it’s against the way his teams have recruited high school players. Washington’s 2024 class ranks just 46th in Rivals team recruiting rankings and was 24th in 2023. But it’s also clear that he’s found key contributors through the transfer portal. In addition to Penix, running back Dillon Johnson was also a transfer along with LB Cam Bright and hybrid defender Kristopher Moll.
However, Alabama will have recruiting advantages Washington does not, even as the Huskies enter the Big Ten in 2024. It also has expectations that Washington didn't, either. Washington played for its first national title since 1991 on Monday night. Alabama won six in a 12-year span under Saban and never went more than three years without a championship during his tenure.