UW Got Lucky with DeBoer — Just Look at What the Other Possibilities Did
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A year ago, Jimmy Lake was fired as the University of Washington football coach and the rampant speculation began over who would become his replacement.
Before the season ended with Bob Gregory serving as an interim leader, names began to circulate, to spur long-winded discussion, to create debate among the fan base and for the different media outlets trying to identify a leading candidate.
A couple of successful Big 12 coaches, Iowa State's Matt Campbell and Baylor's Dave Aranda, were suggested right away.
An out of work Tom Herman, let go by Texas, was another possibility dropped into the mix.
BYU coach Kalani Sitake was tossed in there for good measure.
In the midst of all of this name-dropping, I received a text message from one of my oldest friends, briefly an Oregon State offensive lineman and the son of a UW standout tackle, who boldly wrote to me that Kalen DeBoer would be the next Husky coach.
"Kalen DeBoer, you heard here it first," his missive said, arriving on Nov. 15, the day after Lake was fired and two days after the Huskies lost to Arizona State 35-30, with two UW games still left to be played.
Now this person lives in Hawaii, far from the college football beaten path, but he was fairly certain DeBoer was the guy meant to lead the Huskies — and he was the first person anywhere who I had heard mention that man's name in connection to the job.
More than a year later, DeBoer has coached the UW to a 10-2 record, beaten Michigan State, Oregon and Washington State, agreed to a contract extension and awaits a bowl game pairing.
He's been a big hit with Husky followers for his steady rebuild, his disciplined coaching style yet his entertaining offensive show and for his instant success. In short, DeBoer has been the perfect Montlake hire.
He's humble, cheerful and a winner.
Keeping all of this in mind, we thought it might be interesting to revisit what's happened to those others whose names were batted around as coaching possibilities in Seattle, with Iowa State's Campbell reportedly the only other football leader who merited serious attention, though he might have been too expensive.
Matt Campbell
After five consecutive winning seasons, which included Fiesta and Liberty bowl victories, some of the shine came off of Campbell's star this fall as his Cyclones finished 4-8 and wound up in last place in the Big 12. He did a Jimmy Lake without the shove and getting dismissed. That particular fate in Ames, Iowa, was left for his long-time offensive coordinator Tom Manning and his strength and conditioning coach Dave Andrews, both of whom were relieved of their duties on Friday.
Dave Aranda
Aranda also had his serious difficulties this season, with his Bears going from 12-2 and winning the Sugar Bowl in 2021 to a less-than-satisfying 6-6 record. On Thursday, the Baylor coach, who built his reputation as a defensive-minded leader, felt compelled to part ways with Bears defensive coordinator Ron Roberts and safeties/special-teams coach Ronnie Wheat.
Tom Herman
On Friday, Herman was hired to rebuild a Florida Atlantic team coming off a 5-7 showing and in need of a significant makeover after he sat out the past two seasons once he was terminated at Texas and replaced by ex-Husky coach Steve Sarkisian. He takes over for Willie Taggart, who briefly coached at Oregon and Florida State. It's not a Power 5 school, but Herman, similarly an offensive-minded coach as DeBoer, is back in the game.
Kalani Sitake
The BYU coach, after turning in 11-1 and 10-3 seasons and guiding the Cougars to four consecutive bowl games, experienced some program falloff when his current team slid to 7-5 though it now awaits a bowl game. This was disappointing enough that his defensive coordinator Ilaisa Tuiaki resigned immediately following BYU's regular-season finale, a win over Stanford — which was Sitake's first coaching change in his seven seasons in Provo.
This just goes to show how fortunate, lucky or astute the UW was, or all of the above, in hiring DeBoer, a man who says he only plays for championships, plans to be in Seattle for a long time and has a natural affinity for winning.
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