Kalen DeBoer’s Wife Reveals Her Instant Move After 3 Hour Ultimatum Given for Alabama HC’s Career Switch

Nick Saban left Alabama after a long haul that saw Alabama winning 6 national titles and SEC championships almost every other year. Filling in his shoes was no joke. Eventually, they settled in for Kalen DeBoer, who was just coming with some incredible seasons for Washington. And the reason Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne gave was a little different: “We are going to get someone who is not only a great coach with the Xs and Os, but also someone who cares about his players and someone I’d want my sons to play for, just like I would have wanted them to play for Coach Saban. We got that in Coach DeBoer” So Alabama was quick in their decision. Surprisingly quick, actually.

Saban announced his retirement on January 12 last year. Just two days later, Alabama announced the hiring of DeBoer. It is not difficult to guess that the newly minted head coach might have been left with little time to prepare before heading to Tuscaloosa. But here comes DeBoer’s wife Nicole, without whom, the coach said, his career would not have been the same.

“I’ve got my wife, Nicole. We’ve been married 22 years, made a few moves, right, along the way. And you don’t do this job without having someone that just supports you in every way and allows you to go to work and just pour yourself into these players, into a staff and a program,” DeBoer had said while talking to Paul Finebaum a week after getting hired. Indeed, every way. In a video posted by the Instagram handle of Fox Nation, Nicole shared an incident from the aftermath of the hire that proves it can not be more true.

She recounted the incident when DeBoer got the message about the Alabama job and how they did everything from packing to purchasing Bama colors in just 3 hours. “I was in a mall, and I got the text, and I was like, okay? And he’s like, we’re leaving in about three hours. I swing in a Nordstrom, and we don’t have anything red.

So I was like, I’m gonna try to get him like a couple of red ties or something. Just so we were prepared. I go to the register and I have not said anything, that guy looks at me and He’s like, these are not purple. And I’m like, they are not. And he said these are red. I said, well, it’s crimson actually, but yeah. And he said Thank you for everything you guys did and best of luck“.

Well, it would have certainly hurt the guy at the register when he got the news that DeBoer is ultimately moving to Alabama. After all, DeBoer had shown one of the best seasons for the Huskies, wearing purple and gold.

This was a head coach who led Washington to the natty final just in his second season after an undefeated season. His offensive schemes matched Saban’s, and he still had a lot in his tank to offer. This was undoubtedly the coach Bama needed. In came the 2024 season, and DeBoer had massive shoes to fill. He ultimately finished his first season at 9-4 and couldn’t quite match the standards in his first year. However, the work looks to be in progress, and Alabama, under DeBoer, is determined to fix it.

Top Comment by Chip Ramsey

Nick Saban is the GOAT. Look how many coaches (not named Stallings) failed after Bear Bryant left. Not an easy...more

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What’s next for Kalen DeBoer?

The squad has roped in a 3rd ranked class nationally for their 2025 season. They currently have 3 five star commits in Keelon Russel (QB), Michael Carroll (IOL), and Dijon Lee (CB). Their 4-star prospects are also quite capable, as they have 5th-ranked safety Ivan Taylor and 8th-ranked edge rusher Justin Hill. Furthermore, their 2nd-ranked running back, Akylin Dear, and 15th-ranked Derek Meadows will be the offensive wildcards in the 2025 season.

The offensive line issues that DeBoer seemed to be developing are now fixed with players like Kadyn Proctor, true freshman Jackson Lloyd, and Mal Waldrep Jr. Other than that, Arkel Anugwom is another transfer who will provide that added depth. Kam Deberry is another player who has got in from the Aggies and looks to be the starter at the left guard position. However, there’s still something unclear at Alabama for Kalen DeBoer.

That is the QB1 spot, which is currently claimed by three main prospects. Those are Ty Simpson, Austin Mack, and Russell. All of these players have been putting in performances in the spring practices to prove their worth in the QB1 spot. Still, Ty Simpson is the one who is heavily favored by analysts to take the mantle. However, Kalen DeBoer has taken in his old Washington pal Ryan Grubb as his OC and QB coach. According to Grubb, Russell is also performing well in his position. This essentially opens a whole new Pandora’s box for DeBoer to wade through in terms of his QB choice.