 DeBoer in 2024 | |
| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Head coach |
| Team | Alabama |
| Conference | SEC |
| Record | 18–6 |
| Annual salary | $10.25 million[1] |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | (1974-10-24)October 24, 1974 (age 51) Milbank, South Dakota, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| Football | |
| 1992 | Western Washington |
| 1993–1996 | Sioux Falls |
| 1999 | Sioux Falls Falcons |
| 2000–2001 | Sioux Falls Cobras / Storm |
| Baseball | |
| 1993–1996 | Sioux Falls |
| 1998 | Canton Crocodiles |
| 1999 | Renner Monarchs |
| Positions | Wide receiver (football) Left fielder (baseball) |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| Football | |
| 1997 | Sioux Falls (WR) |
| 1998–1999 | Washington HS (SD) (assistant) |
| 2000–2004 | Sioux Falls (OC) |
| 2005–2009 | Sioux Falls |
| 2010–2013 | Southern Illinois (OC/WR) |
| 2014–2016 | Eastern Michigan (OC/QB) |
| 2017–2018 | Fresno State (OC/QB) |
| 2019 | Indiana (OC/QB) |
| 2020–2021 | Fresno State |
| 2022–2023 | Washington |
| 2024–present | Alabama |
| Baseball | |
| 2000–2004 | Sioux Falls (assistant) |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 122–18 |
| Bowls | 2–2 |
| Tournaments | 1–1 (CFP) 17–2 (NAIA playoffs) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 3NAIA (2006, 2008, 2009) 4GPAC (2006, 2007, 2008, 2009) 1Pac-12 (2023) | |
| Awards | |
| NAIA All-American (1996) 3×AFCA NAIA Coach of the Year (2006, 2008, 2009) 3×NAIA Coach of the Year (2006, 2008, 2009) 2×Pac-12 Coach of the Year (2022, 2023) AFCA Coach of the Year Award (2023) 2×AP Pac-12 Coach of the Year (2022, 2023) AP Coach of the Year (2023) Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year (2023) Home Depot Coach of the Year (2023) Sporting News Coach of the Year (2023) Walter Camp Coach of the Year (2023) | |
Kalen Douglas DeBoer[2] (born October 24, 1974)[3] is an Americancollege football coach. He is the head football coach for theUniversity of Alabama, a position he has held since 2024. He also served as the head coach at theUniversity of Sioux Falls from 2005 to 2009,Fresno State from 2020 to 2021, and theUniversity of Washington from 2022 to 2023. At Sioux Falls, his teams won threeNAIA Football National Championships, in 2006, 2008, and 2009. DeBoer’s overall record as a head coach is 121–18.
Born and raised inMilbank, South Dakota, DeBoer graduated from Milbank High School.[4][5][6][7] After a redshirt year atWestern Washington University, attended theUniversity of Sioux Falls, DeBoer played at wide receiver from 1993 to 1996 for theSioux Falls Cougars under head coachBob Young, setting school records for receptions (234), receiving yardage (3,400) and touchdown catches (33) and earned All-American honors.[8][9] DeBoer was a student assistant at Sioux Falls in 1997 after his football playing career ended working with the wide receivers, and he graduated in 1998 with a bachelor's degree in secondary education.[10][7]
Following DeBoer's graduation he signed with the semipro Sioux Falls Falcons alongside his formerquarterback at Sioux Falls,Kurtiss Riggs.[11][12] After one season, he signed with theSioux Falls Cobras of theIndoor Football League (IFL).[13] In his first game with the Cobras he caught two touchdown passes.[14] The team finished his first season with an 8–6 record. In 2001, the team rebranded to the Sioux Falls Storm and moved to theNational Indoor Football League (NIFL).[15] In his last season with the team he helped lead them to a 7–7 record and an appearance in the NIFL semifinal.
DeBoer also played baseball at Sioux Falls, hitting .520 with 10 home runs and 34 RBIs in his senior season of 1997.[6] In 1998, he played one season of independent league baseball with theCanton Crocodiles as aleft fielder.[3] He also played one season for the Renner Monarchs.[16]
After graduating from the University of Sioux Falls, DeBoer remained in the city ofSioux Falls, South Dakota as an assistant coach atWashington High School.[4][7] After two years at Washington, DeBoer reunited withBob Young and returned to his alma mater as offensive coordinator, a position he held from 2000 to 2004.[10] During his tenure as an assistant football coach, he also served as an assistant baseball coach.[17]
Following Young's retirement, Sioux Falls promoted DeBoer to head coach on December 1, 2004.[18] As head coach from 2005 to 2009, DeBoer had a record of 67–3 and won threeNAIA national championships in 2006, 2008, and 2009 and a runner-up appearance in 2007.[7] Two of DeBoer's losses at Sioux Falls came at the hands ofMike Van Diest's national title-winningCarroll Fighting Saints squads in 2005 and 2007.
DeBoer was the offensive coordinator atSouthern Illinois from 2010 to 2013 underDale Lennon.[7] He held the same position atEastern Michigan University from 2014 to 2016 underChris Creighton, atFresno State from 2017 to 2018 underJeff Tedford, and most recently atIndiana underTom Allen in 2019.[19] The Hoosiers averaged 433.2 yards per game under DeBoer, ranking third in the Big Ten for the season.[20]
In 2020, DeBoer was hired as the head football coach atFresno State.[21] In the COVID-19 pandemic shortened season, he led the Bulldogs to a 3–3 record.[22] In the 2021 season, he led Fresno State to a 9–3 regular season record. The season was highlighted with ranked victories overUCLA andSan Diego State.[23] The Bulldogs qualified for the New Mexico Bowl, where they defeatedUTEP 31–24.[24]
On November 29, 2021, DeBoer was hired as the head football coach at theUniversity of Washington.[25]
In his first season with Washington, DeBoer led the team to a 10–2 regular season record. The season was highlighted with victories over ranked teams Michigan State, Oregon State, and Oregon.[26] DeBoer was named Pac-12 Coach of the Year for the 2022 season.[27] The Huskies finished the season with a 27–20 win overTexas in theAlamo Bowl, finishing 11–2.[28]
In his second season, Washington finished the regular season 12–0. Washington then defeatedOregon 34–31 in thePac-12 Championship.[29] DeBoer was named Pac-12 Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season.[30] DeBoer earned numerous accolades for the 2023 season, including Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year,[31] Home Depot Coach of the Year,[32]Sporting News College Football Coach of the Year,[33][34] Walter Camp Coach of the Year,[35] and AP Coach of the Year.[36] DeBoer and the Huskies qualified for the 2023 College Football Playoff as the #2 seed.[37] DeBoer helped lead Washington to a 37–31 victory overTexas in theSugar Bowl.[38] In theCFP National Championship, DeBoer suffered his only loss of the season toMichigan, 34–13.[39] The Huskies finished the season 14–1.[40]
On January 12, 2024, after the retirement ofNick Saban, DeBoer accepted an offer to become the next head coach at theUniversity of Alabama.[41][42] In his first season as Alabama head coach, the Tide started the season ranked fifth in the preseason AP and Coaches Poll.[43] In the season opener, DeBoer picked up his first win as Alabama's head coach againstWestern Kentucky 63–0.[44] The following week Alabama struggled againstSouth Florida, but pulled away in the 4th quarter winning 42–16.[45] The next week, Alabama traveled toMadison, Wisconsin for the first time since 1928, defeatingWisconsin 42–10.[46][47] Following their first bye week, Alabama defeated#2 Georgia 41–34, ending Georgia's 42-game regular-season win streak.[48] The next day, Alabama moved to #1 in the AP Poll, marking the 16th year in the last 17 seasons the Tide have reached the top spot. The next week, DeBoer suffered his first loss as Alabama coach losing toVanderbilt40–35. The loss snapped a 23 game win streak versus the Commodores, and was the Tide's first loss to Vanderbilt since 1984.[49] The following week, the Tide overcame a late rally bySouth Carolina to win 27–25.[50] In theThird Saturday in October, Alabama fell on the road to#11 Tennessee 24–17.[51] On homecoming, the Tide bounced back with a 34–0 shutout of#21 Missouri.[52] Following their second bye week, Alabama traveled toBaton Rouge,Louisiana dominating#15 LSU 42–13.[53] The next week the Tide defeated FCSMercer 52–7.[54] The following week Alabama traveled toNorman, OK losing toOklahoma 24–3.[55] It’s the first time since 2010 the Tide have lost three regular season games.[56] In theIron Bowl, Alabama bounced back with a win overAuburn 28–14,[57] earning the Tide their fifth straight win in the rivalry.[58] DeBoer finished the regular season with a 9–3 record.[59] On December 8, Alabama was selected to play in theReliaQuest Bowl againstMichigan in a rematch of the prior season'sRose Bowl.[60] The Tide lost 19–13,[61] ending a 16 year streak for Alabama winning 10 or more games in a season.[62] The Tide finished the season at 9–4.[63]
DeBoer is married to his wife Nicole. They have two daughters. Their daughter Alexis plays softball atWashington.[64]
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | Coaches# | AP° | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sioux Falls Cougars(Great Plains Athletic Conference)(2005–2009) | |||||||||
| 2005 | Sioux Falls | 11–2 | 9–1 | 2nd | LNAIA Semifinal | 4 | |||
| 2006 | Sioux Falls | 14–0 | 10–0 | 1st | WNAIA Championship | 1 | |||
| 2007 | Sioux Falls | 13–1 | 10–0 | 1st | LNAIA Championship | 2 | |||
| 2008 | Sioux Falls | 14–0 | 10–0 | 1st | WNAIA Championship | 1 | |||
| 2009 | Sioux Falls | 15–0 | 10–0 | 1st | WNAIA Championship | 1 | |||
| Sioux Falls: | 67–3 | 49–1 | |||||||
| Fresno State Bulldogs(Mountain West Conference)(2020–2021) | |||||||||
| 2020 | Fresno State | 3–3 | 3–3 | T–5th | |||||
| 2021 | Fresno State | 9–3[n 1] | 6–2 | 2nd | New Mexico[n 1] | ||||
| Fresno State: | 12–6 | 9–5 | |||||||
| Washington Huskies(Pac-12 Conference)(2022–2023) | |||||||||
| 2022 | Washington | 11–2 | 7–2 | T–2nd | WAlamo | 8 | 8 | ||
| 2023 | Washington | 14–1 | 9–0 | 1st | WSugar†,LCFP NCG† | 2 | 2 | ||
| Washington: | 25–3 | 16–2 | |||||||
| Alabama Crimson Tide(Southeastern Conference)(2024–present) | |||||||||
| 2024 | Alabama | 9–4 | 5–3 | T–4th | LReliaQuest | 17 | 17 | ||
| 2025 | Alabama | 9–2 | 6–1 | ||||||
| Alabama: | 18–6 | 11–4 | |||||||
| Total: | 122–18 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
| |||||||||
Through conversations with the principals involved and other industry sources, ESPN retraced that head-spinning week, which ushered in a new era of Alabama football and, in some ways, reshaped the landscape of the entire sport.
