Kalen DeBoer reveals internal family discussions ahead of taking Alabama job

When Nick Saban retired, Alabama AD Greg Byrne asked the players to give him 72 hours to find their next head coach. He exceeded expectations, finding Kalen DeBoer in just over two days. An important decision for everyone involved with a whole lot happening in the space of 48 hours.

DeBoer was not too far removed from a national championship game loss with Washington and was likely preparing for the 2024 season in Washington. Instead, the Alabama opportunity presented itself and he needed to make up his mind quickly.

One part of DeBoer’s life played into the move more than anything — family. Between his wife and two daughters, there would be no moving to Tuscaloosa without their stamp of approval. Luckily for Byrne, they all supported to idea despite spending just two seasons with Washington.

“The biggest thing for me is always family,” DeBoer said. “My wife has been through it all. When I got my first job at Sioux Falls, that was right about the time where we got married. My kids, I got two daughters. One’s a senior in high school and the other is a middle schooler.

“It’s just making sure that they’re all good with this. As long as they’re happy, that makes it to where I can go to work every day and pour into the program that I’m going to run. They were full support. To me, that was the biggest thing.”

More than just family does go into these types of decisions, though. DeBoer checked in with people he trusted on a professional level, getting advice from them. After all, he had no experience in that part of the country, let alone the SEC.

“There were some in the professional area that I trust that I did reach out to,” DeBoer said. “Just to ask for advice or really ‘Hey, any thoughts on this?’ It was overwhelming kind of how their perspective was it being Alabama and then also knowing some of the people here in the organization, how special it was, and what that mesh could be with me and people that are already here.”

DeBoer has done more than settle in at Alabama, hitting the ground running. Between recruiting, roster retention, and figuring out the NCAA transfer portal, DeBoer has been a busy person since arriving.

The family will soon make the move down South themselves, continuing to support DeBoer in what should be a jam-packed Year One.