On Friday evening, the Alabama Crimson Tide announced that the program was hiring Washington Huskies head coach Kalen DeBoer to replace legendary head coach Nick Saban, who suddenly announced his retirement on Wednesday. But it sounds like DeBoer’s departure from Washington came as quite a shock to his own team.
During a live broadcast on his Instagram page, Washington Huskies cornerback Elijah Jackson revealed that he and his teammates found out on ESPN that DeBoer was expected to leave Washington and become the next head coach at Alabama.
“We in the training room and ESPN kicks on,” Jackson said in the broadcast. “They talking about DeBoer finalizing a contract.”
How UW players learned of Kalen DeBoer's departure for Alabama:
"We in the training room … ESPN kicks on … they talking bout DeBoer finalizing contracts …" #PurpleReign pic.twitter.com/sMdAbEjiSw
— Emerald City Sporting News (@ECSN206) January 13, 2024
In the background of the video, another player can be heard claiming that DeBoer “didn’t say nothing to nobody” before he decided to leave Washington, saying DeBoer “just up and left.”
“Bro didn’t put in his two weeks, bro put in his 24 hours,” the unidentified player said.
“He just left,” Jackson replied. “It’s a cold world, bro.”
Jackson said that there was eventually a team meeting, but Jackson described the meeting as “janky,” saying that it felt like just an obligation after the team already found out about the news elsewhere.
[Emerald City Sporting News]
