Alabama fans welcome Kalen DeBoer at Tuscaloosa airport
Greg Byrne said the plane left Seattle on Friday, and Alabama announced why. Kalen DeBoer is officially the next Crimson Tide head coach and will replace Nick Saban after his retirement this week.
Byrne’s post about liftoff came at 5:06 p.m. CT Friday. A little over 3.5 hours later, DeBoer’s plane touched down at Tuscaloosa National Airport. That’s when he was met with a welcome fit for someone stepping into the shoes of the Greatest of All Time.
It was quite the scene, and it started with “Dixieland Delight” just minutes before wheels down.
DeBoer is coming off an impressive two-year stretch at Washington after taking over for Jimmy Lake. He found immediate success, taking the Huskies to a 10-2 record in his first season in 2022 as part of an impressive turnaround from a 4-8 mark in 2021.
Then, he took the program to college football’s biggest stage, leading UW to the national championship against Michigan. Two days after that game, Saban announced he was retiring from coaching after a legendary career as he became arguably the greatest of all time.
Greg Byrne: Alabama got ‘someone I’d want my sons to play for’ in Kalen DeBoer
Byrne’s goal was 72 hours to make a hire. It took him less than 48, and UA made the announcement Friday evening.
“We are excited to welcome Kalen and Nicole DeBoer, and their daughters, Alexis and Avery, to The University of Alabama,” Byrne said in a statement. “Coach DeBoer has proven he is a winner and has done an incredible job as a head coach at each of his stops. One of the things I told our team the other day is we are going to get someone who is not only a great coach with the Xs and Os, but also someone who cares about his players and someone I’d want my sons to play for, just like I would have wanted them to play for Coach Saban. We got that in Coach DeBoer.
“He is ready to get to work, and we look forward to him leading the Alabama Crimson Tide football program for years to come. We are grateful to our leadership in President Stuart Bell, Chancellor Finis St. John and The University of Alabama System Board of Trustees for their support during this process.”
DeBoer’s resume is impressive. Over his nine years as a head coach — four at NAIA Sioux Falls from 2005-09, two at Fresno State from 2020-21 and two at Washington from 2022-23 — he has a 104-12 career record. That includes a 25-3 record with the Huskies, and he took the program to its first-ever national championship game, where they fell to Michigan Monday night in Houston.