Washington coach Kalen DeBoer is reportedly under serious consideration to replace Nick Saban at Alabama. If that is true, and he’s trying to keep that a secret, he’s not doing a great job.
DeBoer canceled a scheduled interview with KJR in Seattle on Friday, sending the college football coaching rumor mill spinning out of control.
“Husky fans, we know you were looking forward to a visit with Coach DeBoer this morning. Please understand that Coach DeBoer & UW Athletics are continuing to work towards a future we can all be excited about. At this time, Coach will not be joining us this morning, but we will reschedule our interview soon,” the radio station posted on X.
#Husky fans, we know you were looking forward to a visit with Coach DeBoer this morning.
Please understand that Coach DeBoer & UW Athletics are continuing to work towards a future we can all be excited about.
At this time, Coach will not be joining us this morning, but we will… pic.twitter.com/QlyhX5JZHp— 93.3 KJR (@933KJR) January 12, 2024
DeBoer’s eventual announcement as the Alabama coach is viewed as almost assured.
“At this point, I would be pretty surprised if Washington’s Kalen DeBoer isn’t the next head coach at Alabama,” Fox Sports 1 analyst Joel Klatt wrote.
Taking the reigns for Saban will be no easy task. The former coach of the Tide won 6 national championships at Alabama and, in the minds of many, solidified himself as the greatest college football coach of all time.
Head coach Nick Saban of the Alabama Crimson Tide celebrates with the trophy after defeating the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the 2013 Discover BCS National Championship game at Sun Life Stadium on January 7, 2013, in Miami Gardens, Florida. Alabama won the game by a score of 42-14. (Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
DeBoer, 23 years younger than Saban, took a relatively lackluster Washington program over two years ago and made it to the national championship game this year after winning the Pac-12.
However, if he does get the Alabama job, DeBoer will be expected to win the conference and make it to the national championship game every year, as Saban has successfully done numerous times.
Oregon’s Dan Lanning and Florida State’s Mike Norvell have also been mentioned as candidates, but both have said they’re returning to their respective schools.