Washington head coach Kalen DeBoer cancels scheduled appearance amid Alabama speculation

Washington head coach Kalen DeBoer is among several names being tossed around as serious contenders for the Alabama head coach opening following the retirement of Nick Saban on Wednesday.

Now, with that speculation swirling entering the second full day of the Crimson Tides’ search, the Huskies coach has backed away from his previously-scheduled radio hit with a Seattle-based station on Friday.

A local radio station, 93.3 KJR, was promoting an interview with DeBoer for ‘Chuck and Buck In The Morning’ this morning. However, roughly two hours before his scheduled appearance, the station announced that it will no longer take place.

“We know you were looking forward to a visit with Coach DeBoer this morning. Please understand that Coach DeBoer & UW Athletics are continuing to work towards a future we can all be excited about,” the station wrote. “At this time, Coach will not be joining us this morning but we will reschedule our interview soon.”

A little while later, 93.3 KJR added another tweet for further context. They shared that DeBoer was unavailable due to a meeting with Husky AD Troy Dannen this morning. While the station suggested that it could be related to a potential extension, there’s no concrete details besides the fact that the two apparently met on Friday

It’s clear why other jobs, including the one down in Tuscaloosa, would be interested in DeBoer.

Firstly, DeBoer is about as hot of a coaching name as there currently is in college football. His appearance in the national championship just this week only further makes that point. That’s after posting a 25-3 overall mark while with the Huskies, a 37-9 run over the last four years including Fresno State, and an astounding record of 104-12 as a head coach.

Secondly, the longer the search draws out at Alabama, the more likely that other candidates become. Oregon’s Dan Lanning is already off the market while Texas’ Steve Sarkisian may very well be too. As they go further and further down the list, it makes a name like DeBoer’s only that much more interesting.

DeBoer could have missed this appearance for any number of reasons. Still, in the middle of everything else around him at the moment, it’s worth noting that he was absent this morning and, reportedly, was absent due to a meeting with Dannen.

Alabama head coach search: Massive odds swing for new coach after Nick Saban retirement

The biggest storyline of the 2024 offseason will be the coaching turnover in Tuscaloosa following the retirement of Nick Saban.

From the moment he announced his retirement, several of the most high-profile head coaches in the country have been rumored to be a candidate for the vacant position. Alabama AB Greg Byrne released a statement on Wednesday that the next time the public would hear from him, it would be when he was introducing his football program’s new head coach. But which names should we be taking seriously?

Here are the coaches with the best odds in Vegas, according to Sportsbetting.ag:

Kalen DeBoer, -200
Dabo Swinney, +100
Steve Sarkisian, +400
Lane Kiffin, +500
Mike Norvell, +1000
Dan Lanning, +2000
Pat Shurmur, +3300
Marcus Freeman, +4000
Glenn Schumann, +4000
DeMeco Ryans, +5000
Bill O’Brein, +50000
Kirby Smart, +5000
Deion Sanders, +6600
Urban Meyer, +6600
Mike Shula, +6600
Dan Quinn, +6600
Tommy Rees, +6600
Brian Daboll, +6600
Mike Vrabel, +7500
Derek Dooley, +8000
Pete Carroll, +8000

Read the rest of the list here.

NOTE: This story was published at 10:10 p.m. ET on Thursday and the following odds were listed at that time.