Social media reaction to Kalen DeBoer leaving Washington and the Big Ten for Alabama
The Alabama Crimson Tide, having negotiated with Kalen DeBoer earlier in the day, reportedly struck a deal on Friday to make DeBoer their new head coach. DeBoer will leave the Washington Huskies to take over at Alabama. This creates a vacancy at a Big Ten program which will join USC in the new and expanded conference in 2024.
DeBoer led Washington to 25 wins in the past two seasons, including a Pac-12 championship and a 14-1 record this past season. He’s an elite coach. Questions remain about his ability to win the SEC — and without Michael Penix — but it’s hard to ignore that Alabama got a very credentialed replacement for Nick Saban.
This temporarily improves USC’s outlook in the Big Ten in 2024. USC plays at Washington in the 2024 Big Ten football schedule. However, we need to see how Washington will fill this vacancy before feeling especially confident about USC.
In the meantime, let’s see how people are reacting on social media to this huge news story:
DEBOER OFFENSIVE MACHINE
DeBoer is going to do horrible things to defenses with this guy pic.twitter.com/fZuHN04cpY
— Barstool Bama (@BarstoolAlabama) January 12, 2024
UP THE LADDER
Kalen DeBoer really worked his way up from coaching high school kids in South Dakota to being named Nick Saban's successor at Alabama — and becoming one of the country's highest-paid coaches in the process 👏 pic.twitter.com/50XWI9kiI9
— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) January 12, 2024
ANALYSIS
I think DeBoer is about as good of a hire as Alabama could’ve gotten outside of Kirby and then maybe Sark/Lanning (SEC experience).
His lack of southern exposure could be downfall, but he’s such a brilliant football mind, I think he’ll be fine.
His offensive mind is elite. All…
— Jack McGuire (@JackMacCFB) January 12, 2024
U-DUB PAIN
washington fans seeing the news about deboer to alabama pic.twitter.com/avyfeGcq2I
— greg (@gandalf_thegreg) January 12, 2024
RISE OF KALEN
Kalen DeBoer managing to go from a coordinator in Ypsilanti, Michigan to the head honcho in Tuscaloosa, Alabama within a decade is insanity
— Championship Connoisseur (@UMvsEveryone) January 12, 2024
UNIVERSAL WINNER
One thing is certain, Kalen DeBoer has won everywhere he’s been.
He took over a 4-8 Washington team and got to the national championship in just two seasons, with lesser talent.
Recruiting may be a question, for now, but Alabama has all the resources for him to succeed.
— Blake Byler (@blakebyler45) January 12, 2024
NUMBERS
A look at Kalen DeBoer's Division I coaching resume as steam picks up for #Alabama:
-2x Pac12 Coach of the Year
-3-0 vs. Dan Lanning
-2-0 vs. Steve Sarkisian
-1-0 vs. Lincoln Riley
-12-2 vs. top 25 opponentsOverall college coaching record: 104-12
He's a winner.
— Kennington Lloyd Smith III (@SkinnyKenny_) January 12, 2024
TOUGH CROWD
Deboer lost all this top offensive guys to the draft and then immediately bolts to Alabama. How soft that guy is. Can't recruit so goes to a school that recruits itself
— C.W. (@colbydub12) January 12, 2024
RECRUITING
DeBoer is a heck of a coach. Everywhere he's been winning has followed immediately. He's going to have that Bama offense humming. His recruiting resources at Bama > Washington so I'm curious if his recruiting will pick up at Alabama. Will need it for a well rounded team
— Geoff Schwartz (@geoffschwartz) January 12, 2024
HOT COACH
I may be biased from being on the West Coast and seeing a lot of Washington, but I am over the moon excited about Alabama hiring Kalen DeBoer
Greg Byrne went out and got the hottest up-and-coming coach in the country only 48 hours after Saban retired. Just phenomenal.
— Brent Taylor (@btbama22) January 12, 2024
SABAN STANDARD
Kalen DeBoer is a very good coach… but he is not Nick Saban. The Alabama football program got worse, and for that we should all be grateful.
— Cayden (@Cdav261) January 12, 2024
A-PLUS
Kalen DeBoer has last 12 games as a head coach. Washington's offense was one of the most electric in all football this year.
Alabama is in for some big changes but to me this is an A+ hire.
— Matt Miller (@nfldraftscout) January 12, 2024
FALSE CONFIDENCE?
If it is indeed Kalen DeBoer I will retract my earlier statement and change it to ..He doesn’t give me Bryan Harsin vibes at all ..I think we’ve just hired our next National Championship winning Coach !! 😄#RollTide #Alabama
— Wayne James 🐘 (@WayneBama4Life) January 12, 2024
HEAD TO HEAD
Many Alabama fans say they prefer Steve Sarkisian and Dan Lanning.
Yet Kalen DeBoer went 5-0 vs Sark and Lanning the last two years with lesser talent.
The Crimson Tide got an elite "X's and O's" coach. DeBoer just needs to hire a few "A" recruiters on his staff.
— Brad Powers (@BradPowers7) January 12, 2024
REGIONAL CHANGE
The only knock on DeBoer is I don't even think he's been to the southeast much less the state of Alabama. It's going to be an interesting cultural adjustment to say the least.
— T (@tdgator9) January 12, 2024
UNIQUE CHALLENGE
Kalen DeBoer is really dang good football coach, but you have to be more than just a really dang good football coach to *really* win at Alabama, especially if you're gonna be the guy that follows THE guy
— Matt Brown (@MattBrownEP) January 12, 2024
GRAND SLAM
Kalen DeBoer is 104–12 as a head coach
He took over a 4-8 program and went 25-3
They were in the natty by the end of Y2
He’s won 16 coach of the year awards
His offenses put up video game numbers wherever he’s been
He is not even 50 yet
Grand slam hire for Alabama 🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/SGC8mSFAHv
— Thor Nystrom (@thorku) January 12, 2024
OUT OF THE PARK
Kalen DeBoer is a home run hire for Alabama. Winners win … and that's exactly what DeBoer has done throughout his career.
104-12 overall in stops at Sioux Falls, Fresno State and Washington. It doesn't matter that he is in "outsider" when it comes to the SEC. He will kill it.
— Barrett Sallee 🇺🇸 (@BarrettSallee) January 12, 2024
HIGH BAR
For the record, I think DeBoer will recruit fine. They’ll finish with top 10 classes, it’s still Alabama. But he’s not gonna be able to just pick and choose like Saban was, and that’s the difference
— Aden Holloway fan account (@Jackblanton24) January 12, 2024
STUMBLE?
The Alabama coaching search stumbling it's way into Kalen DeBoer: pic.twitter.com/2QJkzW90CP
— Joshua Sánchez (@jnsanchez) January 12, 2024
MONEY
Kalen DeBoer’s buyout is $12 million.
Alabama will bring the Brinks truck out.
— Sidelines – Bama (@SSN_Alabama) January 12, 2024
WON THE BIG ONES
Kalen DeBoer in his career vs Steve Sarkisian:
2-0
Kalen DeBoer in his career vs Dan Lanning:
3-0
Call me crazy but I think Alabama got the right guy
— Cole Adams (@coleadamss) January 12, 2024
TEXAS LONGHORN WRITER
A big reason DeBoer would want the Alabama job is recruiting. The 2024 and 2023 classes for Washington are ranked 36th and 26th nationally with zero five-star players and 15 total four-star players.
— Kirk Bohls (@kbohls) January 12, 2024
NEW SCENE
When DeBoer starts to unpack in Tuscaloosa after realizing what it’s like in the State of Alabama pic.twitter.com/Qac0o7b3oc
— T (@tdgator9) January 12, 2024
BANK ACCOUNTS
All the college coaches to Kalen DeBoer before taking the Alabama job to let Jimmy Sexton get them extensions pic.twitter.com/h0KXpLN7Ck
— Brent Axe (@BrentAxeMedia) January 12, 2024
AUBURN SKEPTICS
Alabama fixing to find out the lesson we learned about “fit”. Just like Harsin, Deboer doesn’t for the south. #wareagle
— chaz (@BirminghamAaf) January 12, 2024
PERSPECTIVE
If Kalen DeBoer really is the next Alabama head football coach, you're about to hear a whole lot of hot takes …
Most will be full of bull muffins
Coaching hires are almost always random-luck, hit-or-miss shots, and they almost never work out the way you think they will …
— Pete Fiutak (@PeteFiutak) January 12, 2024
CHUCKLE
Arkansas really bout to stop getting 3 stars from Alabama now cuz Deboer gonna take them all
— Hogballburner (@Hogballburner) January 12, 2024
LOOKING INTO THE FUTURE
What if DeBoer is as amazing a coach as his record shows (104-12, 3 NAIA championships) and now has the backing of the might that is Alabama football
What happens? Is it just Nick Saban all over again in Tuscaloosa except this time he starts at age 49 instead of 56? https://t.co/2attORaqWW
— Harold L. Stokes #HLSBets football gambling mode (@HaroldLStokes) January 12, 2024
BOTTOM LINE
DeBoer to Alabama is an excellent hire.
Dude just flat wins.— Mark Passwaters (@mbpRivals) January 12, 2024
EFFICIENT
Kalen DeBoer is about as grand slam of a hire as you could get for Alabama
In just 3 days. Still among the upper-echelon of college football royalty.
DeBoer looked like a Washington building block until this week!
— Rav (@Rav_Bets) January 12, 2024
METEORIC
It was only a few weeks ago I wrote that Kalen DeBoer, pre-Playoff, could probably walk through a Home Depot in 48 states and go unrecognized.
Today he's the head coach at Alabama.
Just an extraordinary rise over the last four years.
— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) January 12, 2024
BEEN TO MANY PLACES
Pretty crazy that I saw Kalen DeBoer on the sidelines just a few years ago at Fresno State.
I think he is a great coach. Wish him the best at Alabama. pic.twitter.com/Lqhel00o2u
— Noel Thompson (@N0ELTHOMPSON) January 12, 2024
