Seems he anticipated it might be coming as Deboer declined in November to sign what the AD said was a healthy contract extension. Doesn't seem to be any sour grapes, just acknowledges it's part of the business side of football. Seems to suggest in the bottom quote provided below that their offer to Deboer was for $9.5 million. Some excerpts:
“Believe it or not, I had an inkling around Thanksgiving (that DeBoer might leave),” Dannen told Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk Tuesday morning. “We put a pretty good contract offer on the table and when we couldn’t get it signed, that gave me some pause.”
“The fact that we couldn’t get it signed led me to believe that there might be uncertainty down the line,” Dannen said. “Frankly, I’d been doing due diligence really over the last month and maybe five weeks just in case this eventuality came.”
“I’m certainly not in a position to foresee Nick Saban retiring, but you just never know what was coming,” Dannen added. “But there was a reason we couldn’t get it signed, and it wasn’t because of what the contract looked like. So that inkling is there, and it did give me a long runway to do a lot of due diligence along the way.”
That led Mike Salk to ask Dannen whether he felt DeBoer and Sexton were “above board” with him. “You’re never gonna get the whole story,” Dannen said with a laugh. “If you go in expecting to know the actual truth and the whole story, then then shame on you. Everything that I’ve been told was consistent.” Dannen told Brock and Salk he’s been around long enough that he’s learned to “read between the lines a little bit.”
And here’s what Dannen said when asked what he learned about UW’s standing in college football after DeBoer left for Alabama: “I said this when I got here: Not all moves are about money. And frankly when you’re talking about what’s the difference between $9.5 million and $10.5 million, do you make a move for that?” he said. “… At what point is it no longer about money? Is it about other things? And those are the things you can’t control. So I think it says less about our place in the hierarchy of college football and it really says more about the individual’s motivations and desires and goals.”
sports.mynorthwest.com
“Believe it or not, I had an inkling around Thanksgiving (that DeBoer might leave),” Dannen told Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk Tuesday morning. “We put a pretty good contract offer on the table and when we couldn’t get it signed, that gave me some pause.”
“The fact that we couldn’t get it signed led me to believe that there might be uncertainty down the line,” Dannen said. “Frankly, I’d been doing due diligence really over the last month and maybe five weeks just in case this eventuality came.”
“I’m certainly not in a position to foresee Nick Saban retiring, but you just never know what was coming,” Dannen added. “But there was a reason we couldn’t get it signed, and it wasn’t because of what the contract looked like. So that inkling is there, and it did give me a long runway to do a lot of due diligence along the way.”
That led Mike Salk to ask Dannen whether he felt DeBoer and Sexton were “above board” with him. “You’re never gonna get the whole story,” Dannen said with a laugh. “If you go in expecting to know the actual truth and the whole story, then then shame on you. Everything that I’ve been told was consistent.” Dannen told Brock and Salk he’s been around long enough that he’s learned to “read between the lines a little bit.”
And here’s what Dannen said when asked what he learned about UW’s standing in college football after DeBoer left for Alabama: “I said this when I got here: Not all moves are about money. And frankly when you’re talking about what’s the difference between $9.5 million and $10.5 million, do you make a move for that?” he said. “… At what point is it no longer about money? Is it about other things? And those are the things you can’t control. So I think it says less about our place in the hierarchy of college football and it really says more about the individual’s motivations and desires and goals.”
Dannen had 'inkling around Thanksgiving' DeBoer may leave UW
UW Huskies athletic director Troy Dannen shared his perspective on Kalen DeBoer leaving Washington for Alabama when he joined Brock & Salk.
sports.mynorthwest.com
