Nick Saban was replaced at Alabama by Kalen DeBoer, leaving national runner-up Washington

Birmingham, Ala. (AP): Alabama hired Kalen DeBoer, the national runner-up from Washington, without any delay in selecting Nick Saban’s replacement.

Two days after Saban, 72, announced his retirement, the elite program selected DeBoer to succeed him on Friday.

Former NAIA coach DeBoer, 49, guided Washington to the national title game in his second season of coaching. He now takes over a program where Saban established a yearly expectation of that kind of performance.

“Its dedication to greatness and the Alabama football program are things I have always greatly respected,” DeBoer stated in a statement made public by the school on Friday night. “This program has an unrivaled tradition-rich history in collegiate athletics, and I look forward to carrying that heritage forward in the future.

Encouraging Coach Saban is a privilege. He has set the bar for college football, and his accomplishments are unheard of. I would not have gone to any old school in Washington. The once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to oversee the University of Alabama football program.

Alabama withheld information about DeBoer’s contract until its board of trustees gave its official approval.

Following 17 seasons and six national titles with the Crimson Tide, head coach Nick Saban announced his retirement on Wednesday. He leaves enormous gaps in his legacy and exceeds all expectations at the program that Paul “Bear” Bryant helped create and that Saban elevated to new heights.

Saban’s seven championships set a significant collegiate record. He also won a national championship at LSU. Since winning their first national championship in 17 years in 2009, during Saban’s third season, the Crimson Tide have been in the running for the title almost every season.

It is up to a coach who has led a Power Five program for just two years to uphold that level.

Greg Byrne, the athletic director at Alabama, stated, “Coach DeBoer has demonstrated he is a winner and has done an exceptional job as a head coach at each of his locations.” “We’re going to get a coach who is not just an incredible coach with Xs and Os but also someone who genuinely cares about his players. I would want my boys to play for this coach, just as I would have wanted Coach Saban,” I mentioned to our squad the other day.

“Coach DeBoer gave that to us.”

This season, the Huskies had a 14-1 record thanks to the quick rise of DeBoer. Washington defeated Texas in the College Football Playoff semifinals, won the Pac-12 Championship, and fell 34–13 to No. 1 Michigan in the national championship game. The Associated Press coach of the year was awarded to DeBoer.

After assuming command of the Huskies, which had a 4-8 record in 2021, DeBoer guided them to a 25-3 record in two seasons. He has twice been named Pac-12 coach of the year and is the first coach in Washington history to win 11 games in a row.

Even though he played collegiate football at a lower level, DeBoer has also won national titles.

From 2005 to 2009, DeBoer guided his former school, Sioux Falls, to a 67-3 record and three NAIA titles at the tiny, city-based institution connected with the Baptist faith in South Dakota. Later, he excelled right away at Fresno State, finishing 12–6 in 2020–21 and winning nine games in his sophomore campaign.

That’s an overall career mark of 104-12, or 89.7%.

DeBoer went 11-2 in 2022 and won Pac-12 coach of the year twice, becoming the first Washington coach to win 11 or more games in a season. DeBoer is 18-3 as a head coach in postseason games, and the Huskies are 10-1 versus ranked teams.

With a squad anchored by quarterback Jalen Milroe and a roster strengthened by a succession of highly-regarded recruiting classes, Alabama’s short-term expectations won’t alter.

In place of former NFL defensive coordinator Nick Saban, DeBoer, who coached Michael Penix Jr., the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy last season, adds an offensive track record. In 2017 and 2018, he served as offensive coordinator for Fresno State. Before taking over for Bulldogs coach Jeff Tedford at Indiana, he worked in the same capacity there for a year.

At Sioux Falls, DeBoer was an All-America receiver who contributed to the Cougars’ 1996 national title success. After serving as a high school coach in Sioux Falls, he returned in 2000 to take on the role of offensive coordinator, but he continued to train receivers until then.

After Washington went 11-2 in 2022, DeBoer signed an extension that increased his compensation to $4.2 million with further increments to $4.8 million in the last year of the deal (2028). It also contained a $12 million buyout increase in the event that DeBoer left to take a new position.

Last year, DeBoer brought on powerful agent Jimmy Sexton, who also represents Saban. In 2022, Saban signed an eight-year contract at a minimum of $93.6 million, which includes around $11.1 million this year.