Though it’s always an exciting ride, few offseasons have featured the kind of drama we witnessed this year, with the Alabama job opening up after the carousel had largely settled.
It was an opportunity for Kalen DeBoer, the Washington coach at the time, who had just led his team to the national championship game.
“Every process is unique, but this one moved along very quickly because of the timing and urgency, especially on Alabama’s end with Greg Byrne and the fact that it was really almost the middle of January at the time,” DeBoer stated on the McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning program.
Many analysts projected Kalen DeBoer to take Nick Saban’s place as soon as he announced his departure from Alabama. Projections are, of course, very meaningless.
Interviews take place.
It didn’t take long for DeBoer to begin interviewing with Alabama officials and outlining his prospective future plans for the program.
“Coach Saban announces his retirement and I’m not sure if that was the day after or the next day. That was probably Wednesday or Thursday, so maybe on Thursday we went through with the interviews there and on Friday you’re accepting the position down in Tuscaloosa,” said Kalen DeBoer. Thus, put on your work clothes and get to work.
A championship game loss would usually mean at least a little bit of downtime for coaches. It’s time to gather your thoughts, adjust the context for your needs, and process.
Not for DeBoer. He was frantically commuting between Tuscaloosa and recruiting to complete unfinished business and hire personnel to assist him in realizing his vision at a new site.
It was a swift transition; at the time, you were licking your wounds from a championship game, experiencing heartache, and attempting to move past it at Washington. Suddenly, though, you found yourself in a new position with this opportunity, according to Kalen DeBoer.
