Kalen DeBoer hired to replace Nick Saban at Alabama, leaving national runner-up Washington

Alabama wasted little time in finding Nick Saban's successor, hiring Kalen DeBoer away from national runner-up Washington.

The powerhouse program tapped DeBoer on Friday to replace Saban, just two days after the 72-year-old coach announced his retirement.

DeBoer said in a statement that he "would not have left Washington for just any school." But he said the chance to coach Alabama "is the opportunity of a lifetime."

The 49-year-old DeBoer is a former NAIA coach who led Washington to the national championship game in his second season. Now, he takes over a program where Saban made that kind of success an annual expectation.

Saban led the Crimson Tide to six national championships in 17 seasons. He leaves massive shoes to fill and outsized expectations at the program Paul "Bear" Bryant helped build and Saban took to even greater heights.

Saban also won a national title at LSU and his seven championships are a major college record. The Crimson Tide have been in national title contention just about every season since winning their first in 17 years back in 2009, Saban's third season.

The fast-rising DeBoer led the Huskies to a 14-1 record this season. Washington won the Pac-12 championship, beat Texas in the College Football Playoff semifinals and lost to No. 1 Michigan 34-13 in the national title game. DeBoer was named The Associated Press coach of the year.

DeBoer led the Huskies to a 25-3 record in two seasons after taking over a program that was 4-8 in 2021. He also has won national titles, albeit a few levels down in college football.

DeBoer led his alma mater, Sioux Falls, to a 67-3 record from 2005-09 and won three NAIA championships at the small, Baptist-affiliated school in South Dakota's largest city. He later had immediate success at Fresno State, going 12-6 from 2020-21, with nine wins in his second season.

That's a career mark of 104-12 at all levels, or 89.7 per cent.

Alabama's short-term expectations won't change with a team led by quarterback Jalen Milroe and a roster fortified by a string of highly rated recruiting classes.

DeBoer was an All-America receiver at Sioux Falls who helped the Cougars win their first national championship in 1996. He then stayed on as receivers coach, returning in 2000 as offensive coordinator after a stint as a high school coach in Sioux Falls.

At Washington, DeBoer signed an extension after going 11-2 in 2022, raising his salary to $4.2 million US with incremental increases to $4.8 million in the last year of the contract in 2028. It also included an increased buyout of $12 million if DeBoer left for a new job.

DeBoer hired high-powered agent Jimmy Sexton, who also represents Saban, last year. Saban received an eight-year deal in 2022 worth at least $93.6 million, including some $11.1 million this year.