The Alabama football program is entering a new era after legendary head coach Nick Saban shockingly retired earlier in the week. After Dan Lanning, Steve Sarkisian, and Mike Norvell seemingly took themselves out of the running, all eyes shifted to Washington head coach Kalen DeBoer. Now, DeBoer is negotiating a deal to be the new head coach for the Crimson Tide, per Mark Schlabach and Chris Low of ESPN.

‘Washington's Kalen DeBoer, who guided the Huskies to a Pac-12 championship and a spot in the CFP National Championship game this past season, is negotiating a contract to replace Alabama's Nick Saban, sources told ESPN on Friday.'

Shortly after, Pete Thamel of ESPN confirmed the move, and Washington is set for a team meeting.

‘Sources: Kalen DeBoer has informed Washington officials he's taking the job at Alabama. He's expected to tell his team soon.'

This move makes a lot of sense for both sides, and DeBoer will go from Fresno State to Washington to Alabama in just a matter of a few years.

Kalen DeBoer's impressive resume 

Photo: Kalen DeBoer in Washington gear with CFP logo in the background

With Nick Saban retiring, the Alabama football program has arguably the biggest shoes ever to fill in the sport. DeBoer has done nothing but win at his previous stops as head coach, sporting an impressive 104-12 overall record and a 12-2 mark against top 25 teams.

DeBoer began his head coaching career at Sioux Falls, an NAIA school and his alma mater. During his time there, he went 67–3 overall and then spent time at Southern Illinois and Eastern Michigan as the offensive coordinator and other assistant roles. He then went to Fresno State to be the team's OC and QBs coach for two seasons before going to Indiana in the same role.

In 202, he then returned to Fresno State, this time as the head coach, and went 12-6 with a 9-5 Mountain West Conference record before replacing Jimmy Lake as the head coach at Washington. With the Huskies, DeBoer went 25-3 and 16-2 in Pac-12 play. They won the Alamo Bowl against Texas last year and then played Texas again this season, this time in the College Football Playoff.

The Washington football team is going to look much different next year, with Michael Penix Jr., Rome Odunze, Dillon Johnson and others going to the NFL Draft.

The Huskies ended up losing their undefeated season at the expense of Jim Harbaugh and the Michigan Wolverines in the College Football Playoff National Championship game. Nonetheless, DeBoer has turned Washington into a top program as they make the move to the Big Ten Conference in 2024.

As of Friday afternoon, it sure looks like DeBoer is the new guy for Alabama.