Alabama's Kalen DeBoer Makes Emphatic Statement About Penn State Job

Two days before the SEC championship game, Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer essentially said that he will not become Penn State's next head coach. During a media availability Thursday, DeBoer was asked for the first time about being linked to the Penn State job.

"We are extremely happy at Alabama," DeBoer said. This is the first time I have been asked, so I appreciate [the question]. We're extremely happy here, love the challenge, love the grind, love this place. There's never been any link [to Penn State]. There's never been any conversation, there's never been any interest either way, and so I'm glad that we could put that to bed right now."

"We are extremely happy at Alabama. ... There's never been any link, any conversation, any interest either way. I'm glad we can put that to bed right now."

Kalen DeBoer's response to being asked about the Penn State job. pic.twitter.com/uFi1vq1zqO
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) December 4, 2025

DeBoer has been linked obliquely to the Penn State job for nearly two months, since Athletic Director Pat Kraft fired James Franklin on Oct. 12. Multiple outlets reported that Penn State had DeBoer high on its list of candidates, and a separate source outside the program confirmed Penn State's interest as far back as October.

This week, media suggestions linking DeBoer to Penn State began to surface more, particularly after Penn State's pursuit of BYU's Kalani Sitake ended with Sitake signing a long-term extension with the Cougars.

FOX Sports' Joel Klatt suggested that Penn State was waiting for a head coach playing in a conference championship game this weekend. Alabama plays Georgia for the SEC title Saturday night. "Something is up their sleeve," Klatt said.

The longer the @PennStateFball job remains open, the longer Bama fans need to come to grips with the fact that he may get ahead of their posse and take that job! There’s no way in my mind they would have let today go by without a Head Coach, without having contingencies in place.
— Tim Brando (@TimBrando) December 3, 2025

With DeBoer seemingly off the list, Penn State continues a search that has reached its 53rd day. Kraft made several high-profile overtures to coach such as DeBoer and Texas A&M's Mike Elko, who recently signed a long-term extension. Other candidates who signed extensions with their current programs are Matt Rhule at Nebraska, Eli Drinkwitz at Missouri, Jeff Brohm at Louisville and Brent Key at Georgia Tech.

Penn State reportedly has turned its attention to a new set of candidates, including Iowa State's Matt Campbell. The 46-year-old Campbell, who is from Ohio, has been Iowa State's head coach since 2016. The Cyclones went 8-4 during the regular season.

In addition, The Athletic's Chris Vannini reported that Buffalo Bills owner, and Penn State donor, Terry Pegula has backed the candidacy of Brian Daboll, the former New York Giants head coach. Daboll served as the Bills' offensive coordinator from 2018-21. Though Daboll's only college job was a one-year stint as Alabama's offensive coordinator in 2017, he did win a national championship. And former Penn State center AQ Shipley is a big fan.

"I think he would be great," Shipley said on a recent episode of The Pat McAfee Show recently. "He's an offensive genius, he really is, and he understands it. He coached under Nick Saban when they had a great offense. And then you take what he learned from Bill Belichick, you take what he learned from being a head coach, splash hire."

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