SEATTLE — Washington’s 34-13 setback vs. Michigan in the national championship game on Monday night might not be the Huskies’ most significant loss this week.
On Thursday, FootballScoop cited multiple sources in reporting that UW coach Kalen DeBoer is one of three “serious contenders” — with Florida State’s Mike Norvell and Tide offensive coordinator Tommy Rees — to succeed Nick Saban at Alabama.
The criteria for being labeled a serious contender, according to FootballScoop, included “earning interviews” for the role.
Per the report, other options “with some measure of traction” include Maryland coach Mike Locksley and Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz.
DeBoer, 49, inherited a 4-8 program in Seattle and has gone 25-3 — with two bowl wins, a Pac-12 title and a national championship berth — in the two seasons since. He’s 104-12 in nine seasons as a college head coach.
A Milbank, S.D., native, DeBoer went 67-3 and won three NAIA national championships in five years at the University of Sioux Falls — his alma mater — from 2005 to 2009, and was 12-6 in two seasons at Fresno State (2020-21). Between head-coaching opportunities, He operated as the offensive coordinator at Southern Illinois (2010-13), Eastern Michigan (2014-16), Fresno State (2017-18) and Indiana (2019).
DeBoer signed a two-year contract extension (through 2028) last November. He received a $1 million raise, from $3.2 million to $4.2 million, in 2023 — and his salary is set to increase annually by $100,000 as well. Should DeBoer depart for Alabama, he’ll owe UW a $12 million buyout.
That contract also included a bevy of performance-related bonuses DeBoer recently accrued. Specifically, he received $850,000 for reaching the national championship game, $100,000 for winning the Pac-12 championship, $50,000 for being named Home Depot National Coach of the Year and $25,000 for earning Pac-12 Coach of the Year honors (for a second consecutive season).
But negotiations on another contract extension over the past several months have not reached a resolution. DeBoer and Saban also share an agent, Creative Artist Agency’s Jimmy Sexton.
Still, would DeBoer — who has never coached or recruited in the SEC — want to fill Saban’s seismic shoes? Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne is widely expected to make a hire by the end of the week.
So, one way or the other, we’ll find out soon.
