Kalen DeBoer's first year at Washington gets 'A' grade from Greg McElroy

USC coach Lincoln Riley got plenty of attention for the job he did in his first year at the helm. But there was another first-year Pac-12 coach who had an impressive season and managed to fly under the radar a bit: Washington head coach Kalen DeBoer.

After two years at Fresno State, DeBoer took over a Huskies program that went 4-8 in 2021. He wasted no time turning things around, helping Washington to an 11-2 record in 2022 and turning Indiana transfer quarterback Michael Penix Jr. into a Heisman Trophy contender.

That’s why ESPN analyst Greg McElroy gave him an “A” for year one.

“We talk so much in the West Coast about, ‘Look what Lincoln Riley did. He inherited a 4-8 team and look at how they just improved and improved and improved and got to 11 wins.’ How come nobody talks about Kalen DeBoer?” McElroy said. “Nobody talks [about] Kalen DeBoer. If you take away the road loss — a weird road loss, I might add, against Arizona State … we’re here in a situation where Washington would’ve been in the Pac-12 Championship game and they had an outside chance of potentially getting to the College Football Playoff.

“Their best season since 2016 when they made the playoffs, they have established themselves with Michael Penix returning as a legitimate College Football Playoff contender here in 2023. ‘A’ for Kalen DeBoer in year No. 1.”

Although injuries limited his production at Indiana, Penix made a name for himself at Washington in 2022. He finished in the top 10 of the Heisman Trophy voting as he threw for 4,641 yards and 31 touchdowns to lead the offense. He’s planning to come back for the Huskies in 2023, which could bode well for DeBoer and the Huskies.

DeBoer also has another key piece coming back in 2023. Offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb interviewed for the Alabama offensive coordinator opening, but opted to stay in Washington instead of leave to work for Nick Saban. ESPN insider Pete Thamel thought Grubb would have been a “favorite” for the role.

However, he said he understood Grubb’s decision to return to the Huskies considering his situation with DeBoer and Penix.

“I would’ve said two days ago that Ryan Grubb flying from Washington to Tuscaloosa for the job would’ve made him a favorite,” Thamel said on The Paul Finebaum Show earlier this month. “His decision, it seems, to stay at Washington — where he’s making 2 million bucks and he’s got Michael Penix, who’s better than any quarterback Alabama has — is in a situation where he could be primed for a job in that West Coast corridor and that part of the world where he’s from. That decision made a lot of sense.”