Kalen DeBoer doubles down on future at Alabama amid Michigan links

Kalen DeBoer doubled down on his future at Alabama Monday amid links and rumors about the Michigan head coach vacancy. The Alabama coach was considered a target of the Wolverines.

But, DeBoer has no plans of going anywhere anytime soon. He said so again when asked about Michigan four days away from the CFP opener. 

“A lot of the same things I said before, you know, a couple weeks ago, when asked really the same question, just feel completely supported,” DeBoer said Monday. “My family loves living here. Just all the things that we continue to build on, love the progress. Haven’t talked with anyone, no plans of talking with anyone. So just, I think that’s a lot of what I said a couple weeks ago, and continues to be the same thing. 

“Feel strong about it. And our guys, if there’s been any distraction, I haven’t seen it, haven’t felt it. And so I’m really proud of the way they’ve handled whatever noise is out there. And again, we probably all season long, have dealt with enough noise to where it wouldn’t surprise me on how they handle this.”

When asked straight up if he would coach Alabama next year, DeBoer was blunt. “Yes,” he said.

Michigan fired head coach Sherrone Moore after reports of an inappropriate relationship with a staffer and subsequent arrest after the removal of him as head coach. DeBoer was also rumored to have interest, or vice versa, in the Penn State opening prior to their hiring of Matt Campbell.

“We are proud to have Coach DeBoer leading our football program at The University of Alabama,” AD Greg Byrne said in a statement. “He is an incredible coach and does an excellent job with the development of our student-athletes, both on and off the field. Just as he is committed to this team, we are committed to him, and we look forward to taking the field Friday in the first round of the College Football Playoff.”

As far as Michigan is concerned, they’ve been linked to DeBoer, Arizona State’s Kenny Dillingham and Missouri’s Eli Drinkwitz, among others. But it appears the Alabama coach is out of reach for the Wolverines as they look to quickly recover from the Moore scandal and fallout.

Alabama and DeBoer open up the College Football Playoff on the road at No. 8 Oklahoma Friday night. Kickoff is set for 8:00 p.m. ET.