Reports: Alabama to hire Kalen DeBoer as its next head football coach

FILE – Kalen DeBoer speaks during a news conference to introduce him as the new head NCAA college football coach at the University of Washington in Seattle, Tuesday, Nov. 30, 2021. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)

By JOHN ZENOR AP Sports Writer

Alabama wasted little time in finding retiring head coach Nick Saban’s successor, hiring Kalen DeBoer away from Washington.

DeBoer signed a deal with Alabama today to replace Saban, according to a person with knowledge of the negotiations. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because neither school had announced DeBoer’s decision.

The agreement was first reported by ESPN.

DeBoer, 49,  has had much success as a head football coach. In the 2023 season, he led the Huskies to an undefeated 12-0 regular season before falling to Michigan in the National Championship Game on Monday.

Along the way, his team beat Oregon in the regular season and again in the PAC-12 Championship Game. Oregon’s head coach Dan Lanning was also a potential candidate at Alabama.

Washington also beat Texas in the College Football Playoff semifinal game. Texas had beaten Alabama by ten points in Tuscaloosa in the second game of the season.

Overall, DeBoer is 104-12 in his nine-year head coaching career that included stops in Sioux Falls and Fresno State before he arrived in Washington.

While not confirming that DeBoer had been hired, Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne posted on X: “The plane has left Seattle.”

The plane 🛫 has left Seattle. #RollTide pic.twitter.com/YF7IqHkHj6

— Greg Byrne (@Greg_Byrne) January 12, 2024

Saban announced his retirement Wednesday after leading the Crimson Tide to six national championships in 17 seasons. The 72-year-old coach leaves massive shoes to fill and outsized expectations at the program Paul “Bear” Bryant helped build and Saban took to even greater heights.

Saban also won a national title at LSU and his seven championships are a major college record. The Crimson Tide have been in national title contention just about every season since winning their first in 17 years back in 2009, Saban’s third season.

The task of maintaining that standard falls to a coach with just two years of experience leading a Power Five program.

But DeBoer was named The Associated Press coach of the year.

DeBoer led the Huskies to a 25-3 record in two seasons after taking over a program that was 4-8 in 2021. He also has won national titles, albeit a few levels down in college football.

DeBoer led his alma mater, Sioux Falls, to a 67-3 record from 2005-09 and won three NAIA championships at the small, Baptist-affiliated school in South Dakota’s largest city. He later had immediate success at Fresno State, going 12-6 from 2020-21, with nine wins in his second season.

That’s a career mark of 104-12 at all levels, or 89.7%.

Alabama’s short-term expectations won’t change with a team led by quarterback Jalen Milroe and a roster fortified by a string of highly rated recruiting classes.

DeBoer coached Heisman Trophy runner-up Michael Penix Jr. last season and brings an offensive track record to replace Saban, a former NFL defensive coordinator. He was Fresno State’s offensive coordinator in the 2017 and 2018 seasons and held the same job at Indiana for a year before replacing Bulldogs coach Jeff Tedford.

DeBoer was an All-America receiver at Sioux Falls who helped the Cougars win their first national championship in 1996. He then stayed on as receivers coach, returning in 2000 as offensive coordinator after a stint as a high school coach in Sioux Falls.

At Washington, DeBoer signed an extension after going 11-2 in 2022, raising his salary to $4.2 million with incremental increases to $4.8 million in the last year of the contract in 2028. It also included an increased buyout of $12 million if DeBoer left for a new job.

DeBoer hired high-powered agent Jimmy Sexton, who also represents Saban, last year. Saban received an eight-year deal in 2022 worth at least $93.6 million, including some $11.1 million this year.

(Copyright 2024 The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.)