Kalen DeBoer's replacement at Washington sends stunning message to Alabama head football coach


Kalen DeBoer's replacement at Washington sends stunning message to Alabama head football coach

Alabama head football coach Kalen DeBoer underwhelmed during his first season in charge of the Crimson Tide. Losing to six-win Vanderbilt, six-win Oklahoma, and seven-win Michigan in the ReliaQuest Bowl was a bad look for the 50-year-old.

As bad as things got in 2024, though, it's practically unquestionable that Alabama was a top-25 team by season's end. DeBoer's team was one of two in the conference to defeat the SEC champions, Georgia, and beat down LSU and Missouri, two teams ranked for portions of the season.

DeBoer's replacement at Washington, Jedd Fisch, was one of several head coaches not to include the Crimson Tide in their season-end top-25 rankings after the season's official conclusion, Ohio State's College Football Playoff National Championship win over Notre Dame, though.

"New Mexico's Bronco Mendenhall, Western Michigan's Lance Taylor, San Jose State's Ken Niumatalolo, UNLV's Barry Odom (now with Purdue), and Washington's Jedd Fisch all left Alabama off their final rankings," wrote AL.com's Nick Kelly.

DeBoer was once a coach credited with leaving Washington in a good place for Fisch, supplying him with a former SEC star gunslinger, Will Rogers.

"To understand the difference between a coach planning to leave and a coach not planning to leave, consider this scene from warm-ups before the national title game in Houston between Michigan and Washington," On3's Andy Staples prefaced before saying, "Will Rogers, a four-year starter at Mississippi State, wore a Washington jersey and sweatpants as he threw a ball on the sideline surrounded by his future teammates.

"Why was Rogers there? Because then-Washington coach Kalen DeBoer had picked Rogers to replace Michael Penix Jr. DeBoer, as of that Monday night, planned to be Washington's coach in 2024. He had no idea Nick Saban would retire that Wednesday and he'd be Alabama's coach that Friday, so he planned for the future. Harbaugh didn't. At least he didn't plan for Michigan's future."

Unfortunately, DeBoer isn't getting any appreciation for it from his replacement.

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