Who is Kalen DeBoer, Nick Saban's successor at Alabama? Here's what to know

Alabama has hired Kalen DeBoer as its next football coach. That decision represents a stark departure from the Nick Saban era.

For example:

DeBoer cannot bore holes through football helmets with his steely gaze. DeBoer cannot devise defensive schemes that belong in Canton, Ohio. DeBoer is not a member of the Nick Saban coaching tree.

But DeBoer, 49, and Saban, 72, are connected in one very important way. They win. And win a lot.

Sure, you probably know all about DeBoer’s two-year stint at Washington. He inherits a 4-8 team and goes 11-2 in his first year. Then, this past season, he guides the team to a 14-0 record and the College Football Playoff championship game before losing to Michigan. Don’t overlook this: At Sioux Falls, during his first head coaching gig — from 2005 to 2009 — he went 67-3. Yes, Sioux Falls was competing in the NAIA. But 67-3! He also went 12-6 at Fresno State.

And now, he needs just 188 more victories to catch Saban.

Saban’s all-time college coaching record: 292-71-1. DeBoer’s all-time record: 104-12. Like we said, winners.

Here's what you need to know about Kalen DeBoer:

Kalen DeBoer coaching history, college

Saban retired with seven championships, more than any other coach in college football history. Well, DeBoer already has four championships! That’s right, four. With an asterisk. All of them were won in the NAIA division and one was as a player, but they still merit mentioning.

In 1996, he was an All-America receiver at the University of Sioux Falls and on the school’s first national championship team. He took over as the program’s head coach in 2005 and won the NAIA championship in 2006, 2008 and 2009.

In 2009, DeBoer needed a nudge to leave South Dakota and take on bigger challenges. Willie Sanchez, then athletics director at Sioux Falls, said he jokingly threatened to fire DeBoer if DeBoer didn’t leave on his own accord.

Two weeks later, DeBoer accepted a job as the offensive coordinator at Southern Illinois. He proved himself a skillful offensive coordinator at four stops: Southern Illinois, Eastern Michigan, Fresno State and Indiana before finally becoming a head coach in 2020 at Fresno State.

Two years later he took the job at Washington.

Where is Kalen DeBoer from?

DeBoer has no Southern roots – unless you consider South Dakota to be an honorary member of the South (he was born in Milbank). Of course, that’s not necessary to win at Alabama. Saban was born in West Virginia. Which is not to say a twang doesn’t hurt. Bear Bryant, who sported that Houndstooth hat while patrolling the sidelines at Alabama, was born in Arkansas.

What kind of coach is Kalen DeBoer?

Saban was almost as famous for his coaching acumen as he was for his sideline eruptions. He did not spare his assistant coaches when things got overheated during games.

In this regard, DeBoer is anti-Saban – calm, cool and collected. Officials must love him, too, because his most intense rants involve him uttering, “Are you kidding me?’’ For real. Ask any proficient lip reader.

While Saban may have softened in recent years, DeBoer represents an extreme move to the other end of the spectrum of showing emotion.

Read how DeBoer comports himself and how it helped him rise in the ranks.

Kalen DeBoer record

DeBoer has four seasons of Division I head coaching experience — two at Fresno State before joining Washington in 2022 — and has compiled a 37-9 record in that span. 

Kalen DeBoer salary

DeBoer earned $4.2 million with Washington in 2023 with a max bonus of $1.25 million, according to USA TODAY Sports’ database of college football coaching salaries. In 2022, he earned $3,100,008 with a max bonus of $1.175 million.