Kalen DeBoer has done remarkable work in Washington in a short period of time. He took over a faltering program that finished 4-8 in 2021 and in his debut season the Huskies went 11-2 and ranked in the top 10. In 2023, he led Washington to the Pac-12 title and the national championship game. Finished 14-1 and took second place.
It shocked some that he's heading to the SEC to take on the job of replacing Nick Saban at Alabama, and DeBoer leaves a big job in Seattle as the Huskies prepare to transition to the Big Ten. Not only will they be looking to replace star quarterback Michael Penix Jr., but now also the coach who revitalized the program.
Washington will have its fourth head coach since 2019, from Chris Petersen to Jimmy Lake to DeBoer and new athletic director Troy Dannen. Lake production, which seemed promising a few years ago, turned out to be disastrous. Will this cause the Huskies to be hesitant to promote a strong internal candidate like they did with offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb? Will they prefer a sitting head coach? It will be an interesting search.
Another factor that could complicate this job is the situation with Jim Harbaugh at Michigan. If he moves to the NFL, there could be some overlap with the candidate pool if the Wolverines don't stay put and promote offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore.
As for the Huskies' coaching search…
A DeBoer protégé, 48 years old Washington offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb spent five seasons in the Mountain West at Fresno State before following his mentor to Seattle, where he helped create the most explosive offense in college football. Last winter, he turned down Saban's offer to become offensive coordinator at Alabama. Washington's hiring of Grubb would provide some continuity to a program already in transition as it makes the transition to the Big Ten while losing DeBoer, Penix and a number of other key players from the playoff team.
If Dannen has an open search, I expect he will seriously consider it Arizona head coach Jedd Fisch, who is the only man in the Pac-12 who could have done as good a job as DeBoer in reviving a dire situation. When he arrived in Tucson in 2021, Fisch took over a program on a 12-game losing streak. Last season, he led Arizona to a 10-3 record and No. 11 ranking, the school's best finish in 25 years. He hit the right note from the moment he showed up. Fish would make a lot of sense for the Huskies on several levels. In Tucson, he proved to be a shrewd talent evaluator and offensive mind. He has worked in Seattle since his time on Pete Carroll's Seahawks team, and he also worked in the Big Ten on Jim Harbaugh's Michigan team. Arizona wants to sign a new contract with Fisch, people familiar with discussions there say, but nothing has been finalized or finalized on that front.
Kansas head coach Lance Leipold worked wonders in Lawrence. Like DeBoer, Leipold has small school roots and has won everywhere he has been. He won six Division III national titles at Wisconsin-Whitewater. He led Buffalo, one of the toughest FBS jobs, into the Top 25. And he resurrected the worst Power 5 program in Kansas. The Jayhawks went from 2-10 to 6-7 to 9-4 and finished No. 23 in the final standings, defeating Oklahoma for the first time in a generation. The 59-year-old knows how to build a culture, play physical football and do much more with less. Kansas had not won more than three games in the twelve seasons before Leipold's arrival. If he's still at Lawrence at the end of this cycle, Kansas would be among the biggest winners on the coaching carousel.
Lance Leipold led Kansas to its first ranking since 2007. (Mark J. Rebilas / USA Today)
Kansas State head coach Chris Klieman also came from big victories in the lower football leagues. He won four FCS titles at North Dakota State. Klieman, now 56, led K-State to the Big 12 title in 2022, going 10-4. Last year, the Wildcats went 9-4, earning their second straight top-20 finish. He has a good situation at K-State under an AD he has worked with before, but the chance to move up to the Big Ten with better resources would probably be tempting.
Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell grew up in the Big Ten in Ohio and has long been on the radar of athletic directors. He's only 44, but he's already won 88 college games as a head coach. In 2020, he led the Cyclones to the best season in school history when they finished No. 9 and won the Fiesta Bowl. He found and developed a lot of NFL talent and did a very good job in a difficult situation to achieve lasting success.
Former Auburn head coach Bryan Harsin was a former head coach at Boise State, like his old mentor Chris Petersen. The 47-year-old had a tough time in the SEC, but he is a very good offensive coach who posted a 69-19 record at Boise State. Harsin is an Idaho native and knows the Pacific Northwest well. He proved a poor fit during a difficult time around Auburn, but it was a situation in which few coaches could have succeeded. He went 9-12 before being eliminated in less than two seasons. I suspect he will get another FBS head coaching job shortly, but that job could be a long way off.
GO DEEPER
Advantages, disadvantages and candidates for the UW football coaching job according to Kalen DeBoer
(Top photo by Ryan Grubb: Steph Chambers / Getty Images)