TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — UPDATE (6:45 p.m.) - Alabama officially introduced Kalen DeBoer as head football coach on social media Friday evening.
In a statement, Alabama Athletics wrote the following:
Kalen DeBoer, winner of the 2023 Associated Press, AFCA, Eddie Robinson, George Munger, Walter Camp and Home Depot Coach of the Year awards, has been selected as head football coach for the Alabama Crimson Tide, Director of Athletics Greg Byrne announced on Friday. DeBoer comes to Tuscaloosa after spending the last two seasons at Washington.
“We are excited to welcome Kalen and Nicole DeBoer, and their daughters, Alexis and Avery, to The University of Alabama," said Byrne. “Coach DeBoer has proven he is a winner and has done an incredible job as a head coach at each of his stops. One of the things I told our team the other day is we are going to get someone who is not only a great coach with the Xs and Os, but also someone who cares about his players and someone I’d want my sons to play for, just like I would have wanted them to play for Coach Saban. We got that in Coach DeBoer. He is ready to get to work, and we look forward to him leading the Alabama Crimson Tide football program for years to come. We are grateful to our leadership in President Stuart Bell, Chancellor Finis St. John and The University of Alabama System Board of Trustees for their support during this process.”
In his nine seasons as a head coach, DeBoer has won 104 games while only losing 12, which includes a 25-3 record with the Huskies. In 2023, he led Washington to the College Football Playoff National Championship Game, won the Pac-12 Championship and recorded the most wins in a season in program history (14).
“I have always had an incredible respect for Alabama football and its commitment to excellence,” DeBoer said. “The tradition-rich history of this program is unmatched across the landscape of college athletics, and I look forward to continuing that moving forward. Following Coach Saban is an honor. He has been the standard for college football, and his success is unprecedented. I would not have left Washington for just any school. The chance to lead the football program at The University of Alabama is the opportunity of a lifetime. My family and I feel truly blessed and look forward to becoming a part of the Tuscaloosa community. I want to thank Director of Athletics Greg Byrne, President Stuart R. Bell, Chancellor Finis St. John and The University of Alabama System Board of Trustees for their belief in me to lead this program.”
DeBoer became the first Washington coach to win 11 or more games in consecutive seasons after going 11-2 in 2022 and 14-1 in 2023 and the first to win a bowl game in his first season with the Huskies. That success resulted in back-to-back Pac-12 Coach of the Year honors. His Washington squads also went 10-1 vs. ranked teams, and he’s 18-3 in playoff games as a head coach.
“I am thrilled to welcome Kalen DeBoer as the new leader of the Crimson Tide football program,” said UA President Stuart R. Bell. “With great enthusiasm for the future, we are confident that Coach DeBoer will uphold the proud tradition and standard of excellence synonymous with Alabama Athletics. I extend my sincere gratitude to Athletic Director Greg Byrne for his exceptional leadership throughout this process. Additionally, we appreciate Chancellor Finis St. John and The University of Alabama System Board of Trustees for their continued support of our great institution.”
Prior to taking over at Washington, DeBoer spent two seasons at Fresno State, going 12-6 and leading the Bulldogs to the 2021 New Mexico Bowl. His first head-coaching stop was at his alma mater, the University of Sioux Falls, where he spent five seasons (2005-09) at the helm going 67-3 with three NAIA national titles and three national Coach of the Year awards.
Other coaching stops for DeBoer include Indiana (2019 – Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks), Fresno State (2017-18 – Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks), Eastern Michigan (2014-16 – Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks), Southern Illinois (2010-13 – Offensive Coordinator/Wide Receivers), Sioux Falls (2000-04 – Offensive Coordinator; 1997 – Wide Receivers) and Washington HS (1998-99 – Assistant Coach).
DeBoer coached 2023 Maxwell Award winner Michael Penix Jr. as well as the offensive line that took home this season’s Joe Moore Award. While at Sioux Falls, he developed three NAIA National Player of the Year winners in quarterbacks Lorenzo Brown (2009) and Chad Cavender (2007) and running back Nick Kortan (2002) and 25 first team All-Americans.
A 1998 graduate of Sioux Falls with a degree in secondary education, DeBoer was a record-setting football and baseball student-athlete. During his football career, he compiled 3,400 yards and 33 touchdowns on 234 career receptions – all school records at the time – and played on the 1996 NAIA Division II National Championship team. He also played baseball for the Cougars, batting .520 (still a school record) as a senior in 1998. His career average of .492 is tops in USF history, as are his 37 career homers and .944 slugging percentage.
DeBoer and his wife, Nicole, have two daughters, Alexis and Avery.
While appropriate members of The Board of Trustees have been notified of the proposed terms and conditions of this proposed appointment, the financial terms remain subject to approval by The Board of Trustees.
The Associated Press' original article continues below:
Washington coach Kalen DeBoer has informed the team he is leaving to replace Nick Saban at Alabama, according to a person who attended the meeting.
DeBoer, 49, is a former NAIA coach who led Washington to the national championship game in his second season. The person spoke to The Associated Press Friday on condition of anonymity because neither school had announced DeBoer's decision. The agreement was first reported by ESPN.
DeBoer replaces Saban, who announced his retirement Wednesday after leading the Crimson Tide to six national championships in 17 seasons.
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.
Athletic director Troy Dannen has said he first approached the coach about a new contract in October, soon after Dannen left Tulane for the Washington 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.
DeBoer had an in-studio appearance with KJR-FM — Washington’s flagship station — scheduled for Friday morning, but the station announced about two hours prior to the appearance that DeBoer would not be coming on the air.
The fast-rising DeBoer led the Huskies to a 14-1 record this season. Washington won the Pac-12 championship, beat Texas in the College Football Playoff semifinals and lost to No. 1 Michigan 34-13 in the national title game. 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.
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 in two seasons from 2020-21.
At Alabama, he replaces a coach who won a major college record seven national titles, including one at LSU. The Crimson Tide have been in national title contention just about every season since winning their first in 17 seasons back in 2009, Saban’s third year.
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.
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AP Sports Writers Tim Booth and John Zenor contributed to this report.