Inside The Huskies

DeBoer Gets Emotional About UW as He Addresses Alabama Gathering

The football coach was introduced as the Crimson Tide coach.

Dan Raley

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Twenty-six months ago, Kalen DeBoer wore a darker suit and a purple tie when introduced as the 30th University of Washington football coach.

Seated next to now former Husky athletic director Jen Cohen, who has since taken over in the same capacity at USC, DeBoer talked about family, community, joining a program capable of winning national championships.

On Saturday afternoon, the highly successful college football coach went through a similar routine, only as the Alabama coaching successor to Nick Saban, who sat in the front row and listened while DeBoer addressed a large gathering in Tuscaloosa.

As he stood at the lectern, flanked by a pair of Crimson Tide helmets, DeBoer at one point spoke directly to Husky football players and fans. 

"It's a special place to me, it really is," he said of the UW, getting emotional. "This is one of the few places, maybe the only place, that I would have left to come coach at, because I understand what Alabama football is all about."

With his voice cracking, DeBoer continued on, sharing the difficult moment of meeting with his Husky players one last time to tell them he was was leaving.

"Those guys that I sat in front of in a room yesterday, I know what they're going through because I saw the same thing less than 24 hours ago," he said. "I just wanted to tell everyone because I know they're watching, I just want to tell you guys I love ya, I will miss ya and you know I want nothing but the best for everyone back there. The journey the last two years has been special."

While Husky fans naturally feel abandoned by him, DeBoer forever will be remembered for being one of the most successful coaches in UW football annals, coaching just two seasons and winning 25 of 28 games, including the Alamo and Sugar bowls, and advancing to the College Football Playoff championship game in Houston.

DeBoer simply couldn't resist heading up the most successful college program in modern times, where Saban, once a Don James player and graduate coach at Kent State, won six national championships.

Probably not his original plan, DeBoer used the UW as a stepping stone to another job, same as Steve Sarkisian, who left in 2013 for USC and now coaches at Texas. 

This coach's 14-1 record this past season and national runner-up finish guaranteed the college game's top programs, such as Alabama, were going to try and pry him away if they needed coach.

Over the past 100 years, Darrell Royal, Sarkisian and DeBoer are the only Husky coaches who left Montlake for another job. Everyone else, the legendary Jim Owens and James included, either retired or were fired.

"Following Coach Saban is an honor," DeBoer said. "He has been the standard for college football, and his success is unprecedented. I would not have left Washington for just any school. The chance to lead the football program at The University of Alabama is the opportunity of a lifetime."

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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