Kalen DeBoer agrees to deal to replace Nick Saban as next head coach of Alabama
OXFORD, Miss. — Take a breath, Rebel fans. Lane Kiffin and Juice are staying at Ole Miss. Washington head coach Kalen DeBoer has agreed to a deal to replace Nick Saban as Alabama head coach.
Welcome Coach, @KalenDeBoer
🔗: https://t.co/QtEZCrvKfZ#RollTide pic.twitter.com/VNoBACMstO
— Alabama Football (@AlabamaFTBL) January 13, 2024
A new era of Alabama football is here! Kalen DeBoer officially takes over as the NEW head coach of the Crimson Tide! 🐘 #RollTide pic.twitter.com/hx0eOaRL5G
— WJOX 94.5 FM (@WJOX945) January 12, 2024
Kiffin was one of the first names mentioned when Alabama coach Nick Saban announced his retirement earlier this week. Kiffin, a former Crimson Tide offensive coordinator, was not officially offered the job, but it appears he wanted to stay in Oxford. He is set — with incentives — to earn in the ballpark of $9 million next season and Ole Miss is expected to be a probable playoff team in 2024 as the College Football Playoffs expand to 12 teams.
Instead, Alabama went with DeBoer who led Washington to a 14-1 season and an appearance in the national title game where the Huskies fell to Michigan.
DeBoer, 49, was making $4.2 million in Seattle and reports suggest Huskies were willing to double it to keep him.
But the allure of the Alabama job appeared to be too much to turn down, especially with Washington joining the Big Ten next season.
It may have also helped that DeBoer’s agent is Jimmy Sexton, the same man who represents Saban. Another factor is the buyout of his Washington contract is reportedly just $12 million. Many Alabama boosters could fund that just by searching beneath the cushions of their couch.
DeBoer will be Alabama’s 28th head coach. He follows Saban who was only eight wins shy of the 300 mark. This season, Alabama fell to Michigan in the college football playoff semifinals and had a chance to win the game on the final play of the contest.
DeBoer began his coaching career at the University of Sioux Falls in South Dakota and went 67-3 in five seasons at his alma mater and his team won three NAIA national titles. He also coached as an assistant at Indiana and several group-of-five schools. After a successful tenure as head coach at Fresno State, he was hired by Washington.
Coincidentally, Fresno State is Kiffin’s alma mater.
DeBoer was 25-3 in his two years in Seattle.
Steve Barnes
Steve Barnes joins The Rebel Walk staff as a senior writer and brings a trifecta of journalistic experience. As a writer, he has covered college sports for Rivals.com, Football.com and SaturdayDownSouth.com as well as served as a beat writer for various traditional newspapers.
He has been a broadcaster for arena football and several national tournament events for the National Junior College Athletic Association as well as hosting various shows on radio.
A former sports information director at Albany (Ga.) State University and an assistant at Troy and West Florida, he has helped host many NCAA conference, regional and national events, including serving five years on the media committee of the NCAA Division II World Series.
Barnes, a native of Pensacola, Fla., attended Ole Miss in 1983-84, where his first journalism teacher was David Kellum. The duo has come a long way since that time.
He will bring a proven journalistic track record, along with a knack for finding the out-of-the-ordinary story angles to The Rebel Walk.
Barnes continues to reside in Pensacola a mere ten minutes from the beach because he does have taste and a brain.
