Washington Huskies Name Kalen DeBoer As Next Head Football Coach

On Monday, the University of Washington announced that Kalen DeBoer, a native of Milbank, South Dakota, and a former player and coach at the University of Sioux Falls, would be the Huskies new head football coach. This is DeBoer's second head coaching position in division one college football. He comes to Washington from Fresno State, where he’s been the head coach for the past two seasons.

In a press release sent out by the University of Washington athletics department on Monday, DeBoer mentioned the excitement for him and his family.

“My family and I are so grateful for the opportunity to lead such a storied program and be part of this prestigious institution. The tough, hard-nosed tradition of Washington football speaks for itself, and it was obvious throughout this process that UW is committed to competing at the highest level,” explained DeBoer. “This is a perfect fit for me and I would like to thank Jen Cohen (athletic director) and President [Ana Mari] Cauce for their trust. We could not be more excited to get to Seattle and get to work.”

DeBoer grew up and graduated high school as a Milbank Bulldog. He would go on to be an All-American receiver at the University of Sioux Falls. After graduating college, DeBoer spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Sioux Falls Washington high school.

He returned to the University of Sioux Falls in 2000 as the offensive coordinator to local coaching legend Bob Young, who he had previously played for during his college playing days. 

In 2005, Young retired and DeBoer became the Cougars head coach. Throughout his tenure as head coach at USF, he led the team to three NAIA national championships (2006, 2008, and 2009). In 2007, his squad finished runner-up. DeBoer had a career record of 67-3 as the head coach at the University of Sioux Falls.

DeBoer spent time as an offensive coordinator for Southern Illinois, Eastern Michigan, Fresno State, and Indiana before getting the Fresno State head coaching job in 2020. He coached Fresno State to a 3-3 record in 2020 and a 9-3 record in 2021.