Alabama wasted little time find Nick Saban’s successor, hiring Kalen DeBoer away from nationwide runner-up Washington.
DeBoer signed a take care of Alabama on Friday to exchange Saban, in keeping with an individual with information of the negotiations. The individual spoke to The Associated Press on situation of anonymity as a result of neither college had introduced DeBoer’s determination. The settlement was first reported by ESPN.
The 49-year-old DeBoer is a former NAIA coach who led Washington to the nationwide championship sport in his second season. Now, he takes over a program the place Saban made that form of success an annual expectation.
While not confirming that DeBoer had been employed, Alabama athletic director posted on X: “The plane has left Seattle.”
Saban introduced his retirement Wednesday after main the Crimson Tide to 6 nationwide championships in 17 seasons. The 72-year-old coach leaves huge footwear to fill and outsized expectations on the program Paul “Bear” Bryant helped construct and Saban took to even better heights.
Saban additionally gained a nationwide title at LSU and his seven championships are a serious school document. The Crimson Tide have been in nationwide title rivalry nearly each season since profitable their first in 17 years again in 2009, Saban’s third season.
The job of sustaining that normal falls to a coach with simply two years of expertise main a Power Five program.
The fast-rising DeBoer led the Huskies to a 14-1 document this season. Washington gained the Pac-12 championship, beat Texas within the College Football Playoff semifinals and misplaced to No. 1 Michigan 34-13 within the nationwide title sport. DeBoer was named The Associated Press coach of the 12 months.
DeBoer led the Huskies to a 25-3 document in two seasons after taking on a program that was 4-8 in 2021. He additionally has gained nationwide titles, albeit a couple of ranges down in school soccer.
DeBoer led his alma mater, Sioux Falls, to a 67-3 document from 2005-09 and gained three NAIA championships on the small, Baptist-affiliated college in South Dakota’s largest metropolis. He later had instant success at Fresno State, going 12-6 from 2020-21, with 9 wins in his second season.
That’s a profession mark of 104-12 in any respect ranges, or 89.7%.
Alabama’s short-term expectations gained’t change with a crew led by quarterback Jalen Milroe and a roster fortified by a string of extremely rated recruiting lessons.
DeBoer coached Heisman Trophy runner-up Michael Penix Jr. final season and brings an offensive monitor document to exchange Saban, a former NFL defensive coordinator. He was Fresno State’s offensive coordinator within the 2017 and 2018 seasons and held the identical job at Indiana for a 12 months earlier than changing Bulldogs coach Jeff Tedford.
DeBoer was an All-America receiver at Sioux Falls who helped the Cougars win their first nationwide championship in 1996. He then stayed on as receivers coach, returning in 2000 as offensive coordinator after a stint as a highschool coach in Sioux Falls.
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AP College Football Writer Ralph D. Russo and AP Sports Writer Tim Booth contributed to this report.
