TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Former UW Huskies coach Kalen DeBoer stood at a lectern, only a few feet from Nick Saban, and enthusiastically embraced the chance to both replace and learn from his larger-than-life predecessor.
UW Huskies try to rebuild after Kalen DeBoer leaves at end of tumultuous week
The outsized expectations Saban leaves behind are a big part of that.
Hired two days after Saban’s retirement and four after leading Washington to the national championship game, DeBoer said he’s giving the 72-year-old ex-coach “100 percent access” to his program — saying he’d “be a fool not to” — and that Saban firmly wants the Crimson Tide’s success to continue. All that makes it easier to be the guy who replaces the guy who brought six national championships to Tuscaloosa in 17 years.
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“I felt confident enough in my abilities, along with knowing that you have someone that wants this program to be so successful,” DeBoer said Saturday, speaking to reporters after he was introduced at Bryant-Denny Stadium. “I firmly, 100 percent believe that he wants nothing but the best. Some people when they leave, it’s like, ‘Eh, I want to be that legend and I don’t want it to be as good as it was when I was there.’
“That’s obviously not the case. He wants this thing to be even better. His legendary status will never be questioned.”
“I knew this was the right move,” DeBoer said. “I knew this was a thing that, not that I had to do, but that I really wanted to do. But it wasn’t easy. … (Washington) is a special place to me, and this is one of the few places – maybe the only place – that I would have ever left (Washington) to come coach at.”
Click play on the video below to hear Kalen DeBoer speak about leaving Washington, which begins at the 28:29 mark.
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But what loomed largest Saturday was Saban’s shadow, as he and his wife, Terry, sat in the front row watching DeBoer address a room with dozens of Tide supporters and university brass. Then they slipped out without talking to reporters.
A huge photo of Saban and players hoisting a national championship trophy hung on the wall behind DeBoer as he talked to reporters.
University President Stuart R. Bell said Alabama found “the perfect person” to lead the program. But he drew loud applause when he gave a nod to Saban.
“Your legacy will forever be interwoven with the fabric of the university,” Bell said.
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DeBoer spoke with Saban on the phone Friday morning and called him again the next morning. Saban has told ESPN he will keep an office at the stadium.
Still, it’s DeBoer’s moment. The 49-year-old from South Dakota was hired on Friday after leading Washington to the national championship game in his second season and earning Associated Press coach of the year honors. He’s 104-12 as a head coach, winning three NAIA national titles at alma mater Sioux Falls and quickly having success at Fresno State and Washington. He was 25-3 with the Huskies.
DeBoer was greeted by a large group of Alabama fans when he landed at the Tuscaloosa airport a little after 8:30 p.m. Friday, and others lined the path to the football building. He high-fived some fans before getting whisked away for a meeting with his new players.
He also knows Alabama players have emotions to process about losing Saban, who led the team to a Southeastern Conference championship and into the College Football Playoff in his final season.
A big challenge will be re-recruiting current players who have options to transfer. The most high-profile players who have entered the transfer portal or announced plans to this week are five-star 2023 cornerback Dezz Ricks and wide receiver Isaiah Bonds.
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DeBoer met with a number of players both Friday and Saturday.
The transfer portal issue brought some urgency to athletic director Greg Byrne’s efforts to hire a new coach. He needed only two days.
Byrne declined to offer details about the terms of Alabama’s deal with DeBoer. But after meeting with DeBoer and his wife, Nicole, the athletic director was convinced that both were entirely comfortable with the challenge of replacing a coach who won a record seven national titles between LSU and Alabama.
Byrne acknowledged he was familiar with the argument that “nobody’s going to want to replace Coach Saban.”
“As I thought about it over the years, one of the things that I thought about was, you’d better have somebody who’s comfortable in their own skin and that looks at this as a challenge and an opportunity, not as a detriment,” Byrne said.
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DeBoer appears to fit that description.
Seattle Sports staff made contributions to this post.
More on Kalen DeBoer leaving UW Huskies
• Kalen DeBoer officially hired as Alabama head coach • Bruce Feldman’s names to watch for Washington head coach job • UW Huskies Coach Candidates: Who will replace Bama-bound DeBoer? • Brock Huard on Kalen DeBoer leaving, what UW Huskies must do next
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) – The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) kicked off its annual 101 Days of Summer Safety campaign as the summer travel season begins.
The campaign runs from Memorial Day to Labor Day, a period troopers call the “100 deadliest days of summer.”
Over Memorial Day weekend, troopers investigated four traffic deaths and one boating fatality. They issued more than 1,400 speeding citations, 365 seat belt violations, and made 14 DUI arrests on roadways statewide.
On the water, Marine Patrol made four boating under the influence arrests and conducted nearly 500 vessel stops.
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ALEA says the goal this summer is education and enforcement. Troopers say that means buckling up, watching your speed, keeping your distance, and putting the phone down every time you get behind the wheel.
“More traffic means people get complacent. More car crashes, more injuries, more fatalities,” said ALEA Trooper Brandon Bailey. “Check your tires, make sure they’re at the appropriate tread depth. If you don’t have the appropriate amount of tread, it could easily lead to hydroplaning.”
ALEA says they will have increased patrols on roads and waterways through Labor Day.
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Alabama football is in a position to hear some positive recruiting news ‘soon,’ Touchdown Alabama has learned.
This news is expected to come from one of the top recruits the Crimson Tide hosted for an official visit this weekend, most likely in the form of a verbal commitment. This decision is coming off an ‘amazing’ official visit. Alabama will work to build its 2027 class over the next several weeks, with a long list of top recruits expected in Tuscaloosa in June.
Monshun Sales (5-Star WR), Hayden Stepp (5-Star CB), Osani Gayles (4-Star WR) , Kenneth Simon (4-Star LB), Avrian Pauley (3-Star DL), Mitchell Turner (4-Star DL), Antwan Jackson (4-Star Edge) and Nigel Newkirk (4-Star RB) were among the top prospects the Tide had on campus for an official visit this weekend.
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Alabama currently has commitments from six 2027 prospects. Three of those recruits are offensive prospects, with pledges from Elijah Haven, Trent Seaborn and Oakley Keegan. The defensive side is represented by Avrian Pauley, Kenneth Simon and Stevan Thornton.
Touchdown Alabama will provide updates on the Crimson Tide’s recruiting efforts throughout the next several weeks.
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Justin Smith is the Managing Editor and Lead Writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine with over 10 years of writing experience & expertise. Smith has consistently delivered high quality, extensively researched information on the University of Alabama’s Crimson Tide football team that fans can trust. Smith is official credentialed media with the University of Alabama under Touchdown Alabama Magazine. He is also the Director of Recruiting for Touchdown Enterprises, specializing in scouting and analyzing high school recruits around the nation, specifically focusing on recruits within the state of Alabama.
After the SEC added Texas and Oklahoma for the 2024 football season, I split the conference in half for evaluation purposes.
My top half: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, and Texas A&M.
These teams comprised my bottom half: Arkansas, Auburn, Kentucky, Missouri, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, South Carolina and Vanderbilt.
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Track records and NIL support factored into my rankings. The latter is obviously a challenge, because NIL money isn’t well documented. So, my rankings were an educated guess at best.
I singled out Texas, Texas A&M, and LSU because of their obvious NIL resources. All three are loaded. Tennessee probably has as much NIL power as any other SEC program.
The Vols will play Texas, Texas A&M, and LSU this season. So, they will face a greater challenge than in 2024 and 2025 when the SEC’s interim schedules were in place.
But projecting future success and failure in the NIL era of SEC football is hardly an exact science. And I’m already questioning my preliminary rankings. Four schools stick out: Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Missouri, and Vanderbilt
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Oklahoma went 6-7 (2-6 in the SEC) in 2024 but made the College Football Playoff last season, only to lose in the first round to Alabama. That’s not what I expected from one of college football’s most prestigious programs.
Perhaps, the Sooners don’t have as much NIL money as the SEC’s most affluent members. Now, I’m wondering if they even can keep up with in-state rival Oklahoma State, which has been on a spending spree in multiple sports, including football.
Ole Miss has been a surprise in a good way. Former coach Lane Kiffin became the “Portal King” because of his relentless recruiting of highly touted transfers. But he couldn’t accomplish as much just on his track record or name recognition. He needed money.
And the Rebels provided it, which helps explain how they went 34-7 from 2023 through 2025.
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Missouri has fared better than expected. The Tigers are 29-10 for the past three seasons. I thought there was a better chance of coach Eli Drinkwitz getting fired than winning 29 of 39 games in three seasons of NIL football.
Vanderbilt’s success has been stunning, though you must wonder whether it’s sustainable. The Commodores’ 10-3 record in 2025 was mainly a testament to the play of quarterback Diego Pavia, who was the Heisman Trophy runner-up to Fernando Mendoza.
Florida and Auburn are wildcards.
The Gators were slow coming out of the NIL gate. They also have a recent history of hiring more bad coaches than good ones.
Maybe, they got it right with Jon Sumrall. And perhaps, Auburn did the same with Alex Golesh. But the Tigers were wrong about their previous two hires, Bryan Harsin and Hugh Freeze.
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ADAMS: Josh Heupel, other Tennessee coaches will face more playoff pressure
Texas, LSU and Texas also have missed on coaches. But they have the money to buy their way out of a bad deal.
The Aggies paid Jimbo Fisher a $77 million buyout in November 2023. LSU had to pay Brian Kelly $54 million after firing him in October 2025.
Such spending tells me Tennessee will have more difficulty long-term keeping up with Texas, Texas A&M and LSU than they will with traditional SEC powers like Georgia and Alabama.
John Adams is a senior columnist. He may be reached at 865-342-6284 or john.adams@knoxnews.com.
