Kalen DeBoer explains giving more responsibility to Washington coordinators

At Washington, Kalen DeBoer relies heavily on his coordinators. In his role as a de facto “CEO,” he can focus more on his duties as head coach.

Washington’s coordinators are among the best-paid in the game, as well. Offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb is the second-highest paid in the nation with an annual salary of $2 million, according to the On3 Coach Salary Index. On the defensive side, both co-coordinators — Chuck Morrell and William Inge — each made $725,000 this year, according to USA Today.

DeBoer said it all comes from his trust and relationship with his coordinators. Those bonds go back a long way, and the results are showing considering UW is in the national championship just two years after DeBoer took over.

“First of all, these guys, I’ve known them for not just a couple years, but going on 15 to 25, 30 years. … I think the thing about it is when you can give people you trust ownership or a chance to make it theirs, and I’m here to support them and empower our coaching staff, not just them but be there for them, give them all they need, the organization, put the pieces around them to help them be successful, I think they take a lot of ownership and responsibility in doing everything they can to help us be successful,” DeBoer said.

“I know there’s obviously a trust and belief I have in them, and I think it goes both ways in their enjoyment to hopefully work for me, and we get the results we have because of that coordination that we have as a whole.”

A closer look at the relationship between Kalen DeBoer and Washington’s coordinators

Morrell and DeBoer go back to their days as football players at Division II Sioux Falls. They both got their coaching starts at their alma mater, and Morrell served as DeBoer’s defensive coordinator when he took over head coaching duties in 2005 after working alongside him as offensive coordinator. While DeBoer later embarked on an assistant coaching career, he reunited with Morrell at Fresno State in 2020.

As for Grubb, he DeBoer’s staff at Sioux Falls in 2007 as offensive coordinator and served as the offensive line coach when DeBoer became Fresno State’s OC in 2017. When DeBoer left for Indiana, Grubb stayed at Fresno State and remained on the staff when he arrived in 2020.

The relationship between the two, though, was shown when Grubb received an offer from Nick Saban at Alabama. After interviewing to replace Bill O’Brien, he ultimately turned down the job and chose to stay at Washington with DeBoer. That decision paid off with a trip to the national championship appearance.