Audio from Kalen DeBoer’s final meeting with his Washington players has leaked online, and the former Huskies head coach could be heard pleading with the group to understand his decision, though he didn’t expect them to.
DeBoer has left Washington after a single season in which he coached them to the CFP National Championship game. They ended up losing to a better Michigan team.
He has since taken up the job at Alabama, stepping in to replace Nick Saban following the latter’s shocking decision to retire.
DeBoer let the Washington players know he was leaving for Tuscaloosa in a team meeting.
“I hope that you guys can just understand that some day, I don’t expect you to understand right now and if you do I appreciate it, but I hope that you can understand it at some point,” he’s heard saying in leaked audio.
“The last thing I’ll say is that great programs are bigger than any one person. It’s bigger than any one player. It’s bigger than any coach. “
The 49-year-old addressed the players for around nine minutes.
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DeBoer, who’s also had stints at Fresno State, Eastern Michigan, Sioux Falls, Southern Illinois, and Indiana, has huge shoes to fill given Saban’s legacy at the program.
For now, he will need to get down to getting the roster back as some players have entered the transfer portal, with recruitment from outside also a priority.
