Kalen DeBoer reveals the biggest difference between Washington, Alabama

The pressure that comes with being Alabama‘s head football coach — Nick Saban’s successor no less — is something Kalen DeBoer never had to deal with during his time at Washington.

Through an entire spring at his new position, DeBoer is getting used to managing how to juggle installment on the field with brand new personnel with off field duties such as recruiting, transfer portal, university events, media opportunities and more.

“There’s a lot each and every day that surrounds the program,” DeBoer told Ryen Russillo on a recent episode of his podcast. “There’s so much — there are so many people that are a part of it, that want to be a part of it and having opportunities like this are just so enjoyable, but take up quite a bit of the day but it’s fun sharing about, you know, whether it’s my journey or our program, the direction we’re headed. All of it. It’s fun, and it’s why I do it. It’s to share the experiences that we’re having, to share the stories of these guys that I get a chance to coach and work with. It’s fun pulling it all together.

“It’s the challenge that I love, is creating this environment. Creating this culture that brings all these different people together. And it’s a challenge but it’s a lot of fun doing it.”

Of course, creating a winning culture is something DeBoer has done everywhere he’s been during his coaching career.

Since he’s been coaching at college football’s highest level at Washington, DeBoer has lost just three games and was undefeated against ranked opponents until Washington lost to Michigan in the national championship game this past season.

Overall, he’s 104-12 as a head coach across all levels and has three NAIA National Championships to his credit, winning them in a four-year span between 2006-2009.

After multiple stops below the Division I level, he became a head coach again in 2020 and coached Fresno State to a 9-3 season in 2021 before moving on to Washington. All along the way he continued to surround himself with the right people — most of which have followed him to Alabama.

Now, DeBoer looks to continue his winning ways in Tuscaloosa as he is expected to have his team compete for conference and national championships right away.

The margin for error is slightly bigger than what Nick Saban had to work with now that the College Football Playoff field has expanded to 12, but not by much. Still, the mission remains the same — bring a title back to Tuscaloosa.