Kalen DeBoer breaks down process which led him to take Alabama job
Most assumed that Alabama would look to quickly hire a new head coach immediately following the surprising retirement of longtime head coach Nick Saban in January. But the pacing of the hiring process likely seemed like a roller coaster for new Crimson Tide head coach Kalen DeBoer, who was just days removed from a national championship loss to Michigan.
DeBoer joined ‘The Next Round’ on Wednesday, admitting that the second week of January was quite the whirlwind for him.
“It was a lot, I’m not gonna lie,” DeBoer admitted. “I remember specifically Tuesday we’re heading back on a plane and texting a lot of the guys, especially the ones that were done, how much I loved them, how much I appreciated everything they’d given, how excited I am about the next phase of their life.”
“And even that night just man, 24 hours ago we had a chance to win a national championship and we fell short and that just eating at me,” DeBoer added. “Wednesday kind of just realizing okay, it’s time to go win a national championship, it’s time to get back to work already right now and not be in your feelings and all that kind of stuff.”
DeBoer led Washington to an impressive 14-1 season in his second year at the helm for the Huskies, with his only loss coming in the national title game. And days after starting to heal from that loss and shifting his focus to returning to the national championship, his attention also shifted to doing so for a different program.
“That was the mindset and then obviously, like you said, it switches into a different area, a different topic, and different conversations a little over 24 hours later Thursday mid-morning/afternoon and things like that,” DeBoer said. “Friday getting the call that the opportunity existed to come here. It was a lot.”
Along with the emotions that come with losing on college football’s biggest stage, DeBoer landing one of, if not the, premier head coaching job across college football represents his meteoric rise in prominence. Spending just two seasons as Fresno State‘s head man and two with Washington following his five-year stint at the NAIA level with four-time champion Sioux Falls, boasting a 104-12 record as a college head coach.
“I got a good support system, I got a lot of people from family to friends whether they’re in the profession or not. And again, I think having that perspective and be able to slow things down, and it was things I was able to do and I feel awesome about how it all came together,” DeBoer concluded.
The days likely go by a little bit slower now for DeBoer as he settles in at Tuscaloosa. Now faced with the lofty task of maintaining a standard set by a head coach that many regard as the greatest of all time.