SEATTLE — It’s been two years, one month and one week since the Washington Huskies named Kalen DeBoer the 30th head football coach in school history.
On the day he was hired, DeBoer said he “could not be more excited to get to Seattle and get to work.”
It’s safe to say he’s done just that, coaching the Huskies to a record of 24-2 over two seasons and the current longest win streak in the FBS with 21 straight victories.
DeBoer’s hiring in November 2021, however, didn’t make the biggest splash on the college football scene. While his coaching record is excellent, much of his experience came at the NAIA level.
Here’s a closer look at who DeBoer is, the experience he has, and what he’s done at his first Power 5 school.
Where is Kalen DeBoer from?
UW's head football coach hails from the small town of Millbank, South Dakota, about a 15-minute drive from the state's border with Minnesota.
DeBoer was a two-sport athlete at the University of Sioux Falls, setting records for football and baseball, and winning a 1996 NAIA Division II National Championship against Western Washington on the gridiron.
Who is Kalen DeBoer’s family?
DeBoer is married to Nicole and has two daughters – Alexis and Avery. Alexis is set to join the UW softball team in 2024.
Where else has Kalen DeBoer coached?
DeBoer's head coaching career began at his alma mater first as offensive coordinator and then as head coach, a move announced in December 2004.
DeBoer's record as the Sioux Falls head coach was 67-3 in five seasons, winning National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) national championships with the Cougars (and was runner-up for a fourth). NAIA, a separate governing body from the NCAA, mostly consists of smaller institutions.
In his journey to Power 5 head coach, DeBoer then coached at five different schools over 12 seasons, with each stop being a step forward in his journey.
He became an offensive coordinator at Southern Illinois, in the Championship Subdivision, before two seasons each at Eastern Michigan and Fresno State, followed by one at Indiana.
In 2020, DeBoer was named the head coach at California State University, Fresno. The team went 3-3 in the pandemic-impacted 2020 season before leading the Bulldogs to a 9-3 record in 2021, which included a win over UCLA.
What has Kalen DeBoer done with the Washington Huskies?
DeBoer was hired in November 2021 to coach at Washington. The team went 10-2 in 2022 and won the Alamo Bowl over Texas.
DeBoer was named Pacific-12 Conference Coach of the Year, an honor he also won in 2023 while leading the Huskies to an undefeated regular season and win over Texas in the Sugar Bowl.
In the game against Utah this fall, DeBoer recorded his 100th win as a head coach.
The Associated Press named DeBoer as their National Coach of the Year for the 2023 season, the first time a Husky coach has ever won the award.
How much does Kalen DeBoer make?
In November 2022, one year after he was hired, Washington signed DeBoer to a contract extension worth up to $28.7 million through the 2028 season, giving him a $1 million raise for 2023, a $100,000 raise each season and three potential retention bonuses.
A year later, in a November 2023 press conference, DeBoer confirmed that he was again in extension talks with UW Athletic Director Troy Dannen, who took over for Jen Cohen this fall.
While that work has been going on behind the scenes, DeBoer said his focus is on football.