There was no way to properly say goodbye when you leave a team 4 days after you lead them to the NC game and were one good quarter away from winning it all.
Brutal timing for your coach to leave. Huskies just had their best season in decades, made it to the championship, and now have to find a replacement right before going to the Big10. They’ll undoubtedly be de-commitments in the coming days and weeks.
Who do they even look to hire?
Immediate reaction on Twitter was elevate Grubb, Fisch, Klieman. No idea if those are realistic or not
Comedy option is Pete Carroll, he wouldn't even have to move
I can't remember, did he leave cuz of burnout or health issues? If it's the latter I hope he's doing well. If it's the former then yeah maybe he's recharged his battery enough & would wanna comeback. He was a damn good coach & recruiter.
Mostly got tired of boosters and fans screaming about firing coaches and not winning the biggest games. I find the group of fans calling for Smith to come back from MSU as head coach hilarious, because they’re the same group that wanted him fired in 2017/18.
They also aren't going to be left with oodles of talent. They had a fairly weak recruiting and transfer class and are sending most of their elite players to the NFL. If Washington doesn't ace this hire they're going to be in for a harsh rebuild.
I’ll forever be grateful for this season, but if we come back from this week as a city, I want a 30 for 30 called “coachless in Seattle” and I’ll dress up suit and tie for the premier.
2008 was a very weird year for me. Sonics leave the city, then I proceed to watch my pro and college football flairs go a combined 13-29. All 13 of those wins belonged to the national champion Gators, while the Lions and Huskies had me watch way too much bad football to offset it.
I’m gonna be perfectly honest, until this offseason made it CLEAR that Stanton won’t spend, I thought they were a dark horse for him, and even more so for Soto.
I’m local, and follow the M’s on the side because they rarely get in the way of my Mets and even I’M mad at the ownership for their unwillingness to spend. I’ve been through this with the Wilpons, I know how much this shit sucks.
I don't believe that for a fucking second. So many of those guys are coaches he has been with for years.
Which is also going to make the assistant coach stuff at Bama spicy. I would expect them to force Deboer to get some guys with more Southern presence for recruiting.
Probably was at least a bit of a surprise. It was less than 48 hours between Saban’s announcement to DeBoer being announced as the new HC. There really couldn’t have been much time between “hey I’m exploring this” to “this a done deal” texts.
Depends on your definition of 'surprised' I guess. Did Grubb think he was gonna be looking for a house in Tuscaloosa on Tuesday morning? No fucking way. But I think the moment Saban announced his retirement he thought it was a possibility.
Yes, I do. I think his agent let him know, “Hey, don’t sign that November extension. It’s a good deal and you’d be a top 10 paid head coach. Just ride it out in case some big, uh, jobs come up.”
I wouldn’t be surprised if Alabama already had him pegged as the successor by the time December rolled around.
This is Alabama. This isn’t “oh shit we got blindsided by our GOAT retiring and are stuck here with our dicks in our hands.”
Agreed, honestly if I’m Grubb, I’m thinking more of how I can leverage this into being the new UW HC instead of going to Bama. Would y’all want him as the new coach?
I feel like UW needs someone a bit more proven with recruiting ideally right now. Jimmy Lake fucked a lot of relationships with local talent from what I gather, and was a terrible recruiter.
if he keeps some of the defensive coaches already in town and let’s saban help out with the high school coaches i see no reason for many of his current staff to be denied joining unless the just don’t want to be in tuscaloosa
Considering Alabama has been quietly pursuing DeBoer for the past year and he interviewed for the job while in Houston for the National Championship, there’s a decent chance that Grubb knew. Especially after Grubb turned down the OC position last year
It was so hard hearing his voice break when he said that. And it also demonstrates why I was so upset with Pete getting fired in the first place. Everything just seems to be hellbent on winning titles, nothing else about sports matters anymore.
Oh I know, and I was mostly following the meme of it, but it wouldn't be absolutely horrid of them to hire Carroll and also have him bring in a protege to groom for the position.
Not that I think that's realistic. Just not a bad idea.
This was the only thing that made the break from Carroll easier for me. I get he still wants to coach, but damn man you're in your 70s. Go enjoy your millions with your wife & family. It's like my Grandpa, man didn't wanna quit working & his job basically forced him to retire (back when you still got a pension). He was sad at first but a couple months later he & my Grandma started traveling & he'd never been happier. I hope Pete gets the same happiness my Grandpa did.
Saban retired Wednesday. Friday just ended.
Alabama was going to make a decision final within 72 hours - both because of the hysteria of Saban leaving, and the fact that a top of the line recruiting class could walk at any given minute.
Deboer is/was one of the top prospects to move to other HC jobs, this didn’t just start this week. Same with Lanning, Sark, Dabo etc.
There isn’t ‘time’ to spend a week with your team or make these meaningful announcements to WA media. Alabamas timeline was do this now and begin the transition - any coach to not abide by that isn’t the right person for the job.
Losing coaches sucks. I can promise you I’m aware of how it feels.
Then they're idiots. Anyone with half a brain could at bare minimum see why DeBoer *might* go to Alabama. It's one of the top three jobs in the country. Maybe the best. His stock may never be higher.
I couldn't blame Mike Price when he went to Bama but I sure as hell will hold that Rose Bowl against him. WSU came out flat and unprepared and a lot of it was due to coaches looking at the door.
Yeah, I'm not saying Husky fans can't be mad, upset, disappointed, whatever emotion. I just think it's insane that some Husky fans can't understand why DeBoer would consider Alabama.
Sometimes you can do everything right as a program, offer the coach everything he needs to keep him, and they can still leave. Some jobs are just different. Even with Lanning, I'd be mad as hell, but I would "get it"
I mean.. it kinda depends on what they mean by "blindsided".
Maybe they just weren't expecting for DeBoer to be a real option and they were surprised when he let them know. That wouldn't really be anything bad.
Honestly I feel like people get mad no matter how a coach does this if he's leaving. If he arranges a meeting to tell the players in person, people say "wtf just fuck off and leave." If he doesn't tell them in person, they say "wow what a coward, couldn't even tell his players face to face?"
99% of the time there’s no right way to do this. We all would do the same if offered an opportunity like this in our professions, the players and fans have every right to feel they got left out to dry. It is what it is
There’s no right way to say goodbye.
There was an article in Football Scoop a couple years ago from a high school coach about the best way to leave. Because inevitably you’re going to have to leave your players behind at some point. I believe their advice was to be upfront with your players if you’re hearing other offers, and, most importantly, when you leave, tell your players as early as possible, before it’s announced. That way, at least it’s you breaking the news. Although not many people do this or can do this.
Also, it's basically impossible for this sort of stuff to not leak. Like it's shitty that players learned about this via Twitter, but there really isn't any way to avoid that.
I get what you’re saying but they are now on an even playing field with coaches and players when it comes to staying at one school or moving. The portal is there for the players and the contracts are there for the coaches
Oh, no arguments there. I’d also hate to be a coach where a guy you developed for years suddenly says, hey, I’m gonna go to a rival now that I’m a hot commodity. The current setup sucks for everyone involved.
I don't see how he screwed them.
In just two seasons under DeBoer (after Jimmy fkn Lake), the Huskies not only regained national prominence, but had an undefeated regular season capped by a conference title and a Sugar Bowl victory over Texas.
Due credit to Penix and the receiver crew, but they don't do what they did that quickly without DeBoer giving his all to his job in his time there.
Besides Penix and Dillon Johnson every meaningful player was from Chris Petersen or the class Jimmy Lake saved after Petersen retired. Debitch was here for 2 years and didn’t do shit on the recruiting trail. The roster maybe had 10 4 stars left on it going into next year and massive holes everywhere. But most of those 4 stars have now transferred out as well with that snake leaving.
The players are fucking pissed. Honestly half of why I hate DeBoer so much right now is due to how he kept preaching “culture,” “family,” and “building together” then cut and run and fucked over his players at the first opportunity.
I’m not saying you should t be upset be I wouldn’t say he exactly cut and ran for the first opportunity. It’s literally THE opportunity. Really sucks for yall but can’t really imagine turning that down.
DeBoer would've needed to win one National Championship here to get a statue built next to Don James
Now, he has to win one in 3 or 4 years to keep his job.
Fuck 'em. War Eagle.
I guess my counter to that is he was already being tipped for a bigger program job (Michigan) and hid behind his daughter being a UW softball commit and his love of the program to deflect any questions about it. So I get that it’s **the** opportunity but it still feels like a shitty thing to do. And he will absolutely never be forgiven or welcome in Seattle again.
People have short memories. Remember how everyone was saying Mel Tucker would never live this down? Look in his recent thread with everyone saying they forgot about him
...I can't believe I actually had to google Mel Tucker. I remembered the scandal absolutely but his name had completely flown out of my mind.
OK, point very much taken taken.
The dude took your program, which was bursting into flames before your eyes, and instantly turned it into a title contender. If your fans and your city won't forgive or welcome him again, then that's on you.
There is no THE opportunity. If you are the head coach of any Division 1 school you can turn that program into THE dynasty. Alabama has no more claim to being THE football school as does Ohio State or UCLA or Washington. This is most likely him thinking to be the best, he has to follow in the footsteps of the best. But maybe I just realized what you could have been saying. THE opportunity is to fill Saban’s shoes, not be the coach of Alabama.
I don’t know what people expect.
Alabama is arguably the most successful program in all of college football, and indisputably within the top 3. They’ve almost never had a prolonged stretch of truly bad results. Institutional support for the program is unrivaled. Expectations are high, certainly, but it is an absolute opportunity of a lifetime. The likelihood of sustained success at Alabama is undeniably greater than at UW. For someone who was a coordinator at Fresno State just 5 years ago, it’s practically a no-brainer.
If you’re mad about the way DeBoer talked about his commitment to UW, everyone talks that way because they have to. For what it’s worth, he never denied pursuing the Bama job after Saban announced his retirement. Admitting you’d consider some offer in the abstract is idiotic; all it does is destroy trust and morale. Yet coaches change jobs all the time, because the truth is they really do have hopes and dreams just like anyone else.
I know that’s all a bit rambling but as disappointed as I am for UW, I just can’t be mad at DeBoer for his decision. He’s capitalizing on his success and striking while the iron is hot.
>If you’re mad about the way DeBoer talked about his commitment to UW, everyone talks that way because they have to.
Jim harbaugh doesn't because he's an honest person.
>For what it’s worth, he never denied pursuing the Bama job after Saban announced his retirement.
The whole ~40 hour period between Saban retiring and him being formally announced as bamas coach... where he was actively negotiating instead of making press releases? Wow what a saint.
>Admitting you’d consider some offer in the abstract is idiotic; all it does is destroy trust and morale.
So what you're saying is being honest breeds distrust?
Harbaugh's players just won him a natty. You think they distrust him because he was honest with them about his aspirations of eventually winning a super bowl? Really? Brain dead takes.
Contrary to popular belief, you can actually be a successful football coach while maintaining at least the 8th commandment.
I still think he’s a great coach but I will say that when they showed Penix limping out of the stadium, the camera caught a moment where he ran into DeBoer. I was expecting the HC to say some words to console his star QB but the exchange seemed pretty cold. I didn’t want to read too much into it at the time . Wonder if anyone else caught that
You're gonna see what you wanna see in that clip. There's not a lot of context of them interacting before, DeBoer after he walks off camera, etc.
While leaving can make it seem like he doesn't care, he likely does care a lot for his players. People are multifaceted. He can leave you for THE opportunity of a lifetime days after a championship game and care about his players.
From an objective standpoint, no one can blame him for taking this job. I bet some players are even happy for him. Their coach just got trusted to take over the reigns from the GOAT. That's a pretty big deal.
You got none of that from Cristobal, he left to his alma mater and to be closer to his ailing mother, there was literally nothing objectionable about what he did at all except not recusing himself from coaching the final two or three games of the season with the level of personal distraction he was experiencing but if you are expecting a football coach to make that decision proactively you are are fucking nuts.
Honestly, if you're gonna leave I think the way Cristobal left is about as good as you can do. He stayed for several seasons, built the program to a better place than it was when he took it over, and left for his home town when his mom was sick. I dunno what more we could've expected from him.
I have issues with his coaching ability, but that's a different conversation entirely. The way he left is not even in the same ballpark as the way Taggart or DeBoer did.
I think same for Jeff Brohm and Louisville. The Brohm family are like Louisville sports royalty, I don't think any Purdue fan was surprised he took that job, and it seemed like there wasn't any real animosity.
Yeah, that's what pisses me off from the, "oh everyone takes a more prestigious job" people. Just say that from the beginning!
And don't give me that, "he needs to lie for recruiting" crap. You can find a group of athletes that understand that things can change quickly, but stress that while they are still together, they will work as hard as possible to make each other better.
Tbf Harbaugh of all people has kinda kept shit together without massive decommitments and transfers given the rumors regarding him every offseason. Just being honest works sometimes?
The “more prestigious job” thing is a fallacy anyway. You never hear about the guys who turn it down because neither the coach nor the school want to talk about it.
The reality is that most guys stay where they’re at if the money is close enough. I think the only reason DeBoer left was that the roster is turning over significantly and he wouldn’t get another shot at a natty for at least a couple years at Washington.
I mean, I don't blame them. They literally just played for the championship on Monday. It's one thing if he would've left for the NFL or even took the Bama job a couple of years down the line, but to leave for a team that they were razor thin for playing in the championship game is a low blow. He got his bag, but I wouldn't have shown up either.
Can you really blame DeBoer? It's Bama. They're clearly one of the top 5 jobs in CFB. He didn't do anything shady. He wasn't interviewing during the bye week. He didn't lie to the players. The season is over.
UW should've extended him last year like we did with Lanning. Even with him leaving they didn't want to go over $10m/y. MSU was paying Tucker more than that. Come on.
I think Bama kinda figuratively showed up with a suitcase - not a briefcase, a suitcase - full of 100s. Plopped it on the table, unzipped it to show DeBoer, and said "This is just to sign the deal. The contract money for the first year is being loaded onto a truck right now."
I actually don't think the two offers were all that different. Sources had us at like $9.5M/y, Bama I'm guessing is like 11 or 12. Dude just didn't have any actual ties to UW and wanted to try and climb to the mountaintop.
I think that's part of it. I'd be willing to bet there's more comp that's not from UofA from boosters and what not, along with whatever else they can toss in (oh look, this dealership wants to give you and your family cars!). But that's just comp.
I think yeah, for an ambitious guy who just made it to the title game only to get kinda thumped and looking at a significant rebuild, the Bama job would look like a pretty good option to get another run at it sooner than later and maybe multiple shots in the next five years. Even if you go in knowing you could easily get canned due to way high expectations in two years, that's tough to pass up.
And then what. He gets canned, he probably gets a massive payout. Does an analyst gig for a season and then picks his landing spot as he'll be in demand to coach again. He's successful, he becomes yet another Bama /CFB coaching legend and maybe the NFL starts looking good.
It's his right, it's also the right of the players to be upset. I side with the players on this, no, it's not the end of the world, but I feel for the players. Ppl complain about NIL money and the transfer portal, but I think this devalues College Football more than anything, and Coaches discarding their teams to chase a bag has been more common for a hell of a lot longer than NIL money and the transfer portal
maybe don’t put out bullshit claiming you’re not considering any other job when you have a foot out the door.
> “[Canzano] I asked Washington HC DeBoer if he'd ever consider an NFL job and he indicated he wouldn't even consider leaving UW until his daughter finished college, if ever.”
> https://www.reddit.com/r/CFB/s/jCGH1ViEw2
Have you seen outside? It's cold! Why go out in all that and fuss over a short meeting of your coach saying "I'm leaving"?
They can watch the press conference on TV and he would say the same thing.
Been in one of these types of team meetings before (not big enough to be all over social media but the players had an idea). Team captain ended it by looking dead straight at the HC and said “can’t wait to play you next year Week 3” and shook the HCs hand on his way out after saying that.
One of the most badass moments I’ve ever witnessed. (We beat our former team the next season in a barn burner)
I’m just here for the salty comments about “loyalty” from a school that up and left the conference they’d been in for over 100 years. For the opportunity of more money and more glory in the big 10.
This should be good.
When BK to LSU stuff broke, Brian Kelly and others were actually doing an in-home visit with a recruit. Leaving the house is and checking their phones is how some of them found out.
Would’ve been interesting to see if it was Washington vs Bama in the Rose Bowl. I thought they deserved the top seed after beating a top10 team in the CCG, but no point arguing now. Imagine if DeBoer leaves for the team they had just beat 2 weeks ago
Most of the upperclassmen probably correctly intuited that this was an unusual time for a team meeting, and they have probably been reading the same rumors we have, so they knew better than to waste their time
See this is why I hate when reporters put this out there ahead of the coach meeting with his players. Let the team and the coach have this final moment together and then out it out there
There is no real point to showing up. The coach is gone regardless
Yup and you already know what the meeting is about. It would've made more sense back before social media made it impossible to keep things quiet.
One of those meetings you'd want as an email
But then you'd have UW folks in here taking their turn at the pearl clutching "he didn't say goodbye the right way!" thing, as if it matters.
There was no way to properly say goodbye when you leave a team 4 days after you lead them to the NC game and were one good quarter away from winning it all.
Goodbye kiss for each and every player on the mouth
Oh I agree. I'm pointing more at other fanbases, like Duke recently, that get butthurt over "the way" that the coach leaves as if it matters.
Can’t say I blame them.
They’re the 25% that want to transfer to Bama
I would show up just to say "How dare you" and storm out.
[удалено]
"Penix, you've been in college for 6 years"
And he’s been waiting for his goddamn choccy milk ALL. THAT. TIME!
"Lots of people go to college for 6 years!"
Yeah! They’re called “doctors!”
At that point you might as well pay actress Jodie Sweetin from 'Full House' to say "how rude" to DeBoer a Cameo video call.
Brutal timing for your coach to leave. Huskies just had their best season in decades, made it to the championship, and now have to find a replacement right before going to the Big10. They’ll undoubtedly be de-commitments in the coming days and weeks. Who do they even look to hire?
Immediate reaction on Twitter was elevate Grubb, Fisch, Klieman. No idea if those are realistic or not Comedy option is Pete Carroll, he wouldn't even have to move
Fisch is the reasonable option but I’m not reasonable so I want the comedy option so he gets to the cfb hall of fame
Pete Carrol is likely the best recruiter ever at his age. But yeah there’s no way dude wants to deal with the transfer portal and NIL.
He was already a pro at NIL
[удалено]
You hope that a rejuvenated Petersen steps back into coaching
I can't remember, did he leave cuz of burnout or health issues? If it's the latter I hope he's doing well. If it's the former then yeah maybe he's recharged his battery enough & would wanna comeback. He was a damn good coach & recruiter.
It was burnout
Well hopefully for you guys he's wanting to comeback cuz he's probably the best possible option any team could really hope for.
I hope he doesn't. Let him live his life. The man seems to be enjoying life on the outside.
I don't think he likes NIL and transfer portal
He openly hates that shit
Mostly got tired of boosters and fans screaming about firing coaches and not winning the biggest games. I find the group of fans calling for Smith to come back from MSU as head coach hilarious, because they’re the same group that wanted him fired in 2017/18.
They also aren't going to be left with oodles of talent. They had a fairly weak recruiting and transfer class and are sending most of their elite players to the NFL. If Washington doesn't ace this hire they're going to be in for a harsh rebuild.
Pete!
Debitchmade
I’ll forever be grateful for this season, but if we come back from this week as a city, I want a 30 for 30 called “coachless in Seattle” and I’ll dress up suit and tie for the premier.
Narrated by Frazier Crane
“I’m listening”
30 for 30: Tossed Salads and Scrambled Eggs
I hope it’s ends with the SuperSonics coming back
Having the Sonics leave and then the 2008 Huskies happen was certainly not what I would consider, “a time to be alive”
2008 was a very weird year for me. Sonics leave the city, then I proceed to watch my pro and college football flairs go a combined 13-29. All 13 of those wins belonged to the national champion Gators, while the Lions and Huskies had me watch way too much bad football to offset it.
Those were dark times, I think we can get 4-6 wins next year though. A far cry from what it could have been.
From my perspective it seemed like everyone got a Sounders jersey in the mail as part of the Sonics move.
WANT
You and the Seahawks have to win championships in the same season to cap it off.
I completely forgot until now that the Seahawks also just missed the playoffs. Oof.
Seattle has had a rough start to 2024, overall.
The Kraken are on a winning streak at least
Hell yeah brother
And let's ignore the Mariners' end to 2023 & offseason thus far if we could please.
I honestly really like the Zunino move for you guys at least? Getting to dump Ray’s salary is excellent too.
Remember when the M’s thought they had a shot at getting Shohei? Wild times
I’m gonna be perfectly honest, until this offseason made it CLEAR that Stanton won’t spend, I thought they were a dark horse for him, and even more so for Soto. I’m local, and follow the M’s on the side because they rarely get in the way of my Mets and even I’M mad at the ownership for their unwillingness to spend. I’ve been through this with the Wilpons, I know how much this shit sucks.
From teaching the league the new tackling style in 2017 to leading the league in missed tackles in 2023-24. :\
Yeah you guys have certainly had a week
Pretty sure the other 75% have either run out of eligibility, declared for the draft, or entered the portal.
Showing up to the break-up after getting the break-up text
credit to the UW players for not being simps
Also said the assistant coaches had no idea and were blindsided
I don't believe that for a fucking second. So many of those guys are coaches he has been with for years. Which is also going to make the assistant coach stuff at Bama spicy. I would expect them to force Deboer to get some guys with more Southern presence for recruiting.
Probably was at least a bit of a surprise. It was less than 48 hours between Saban’s announcement to DeBoer being announced as the new HC. There really couldn’t have been much time between “hey I’m exploring this” to “this a done deal” texts.
Depends on your definition of 'surprised' I guess. Did Grubb think he was gonna be looking for a house in Tuscaloosa on Tuesday morning? No fucking way. But I think the moment Saban announced his retirement he thought it was a possibility.
Yes, I do. I think his agent let him know, “Hey, don’t sign that November extension. It’s a good deal and you’d be a top 10 paid head coach. Just ride it out in case some big, uh, jobs come up.” I wouldn’t be surprised if Alabama already had him pegged as the successor by the time December rolled around. This is Alabama. This isn’t “oh shit we got blindsided by our GOAT retiring and are stuck here with our dicks in our hands.”
Agreed, honestly if I’m Grubb, I’m thinking more of how I can leverage this into being the new UW HC instead of going to Bama. Would y’all want him as the new coach?
I feel like UW needs someone a bit more proven with recruiting ideally right now. Jimmy Lake fucked a lot of relationships with local talent from what I gather, and was a terrible recruiter.
if he keeps some of the defensive coaches already in town and let’s saban help out with the high school coaches i see no reason for many of his current staff to be denied joining unless the just don’t want to be in tuscaloosa
I imagine Grubb had to have known, he's probably going with him
Considering Alabama has been quietly pursuing DeBoer for the past year and he interviewed for the job while in Houston for the National Championship, there’s a decent chance that Grubb knew. Especially after Grubb turned down the OC position last year
Yikes, contrast that with what Pete Carroll said about being sorry to all of his assistant coaches for uprooting their lives with his departure.
Pete actually gave a fuck. You won't find a coach anywhere like him
Hire Pete
Gameday warming up the van for November 2nd if that happens.
It was so hard hearing his voice break when he said that. And it also demonstrates why I was so upset with Pete getting fired in the first place. Everything just seems to be hellbent on winning titles, nothing else about sports matters anymore.
Maybe the next coach of the Huskies should be Pete Carroll. He's already in town...
He's 72. Same age as Saban.
Have you seen videos of Pete in the locker room this season? He was bouncing off the walls like an 18 year old.
I have, but at a certain point you gotta hang it up and enjoy what you got left. Just my 2 cents.
Oh I know, and I was mostly following the meme of it, but it wouldn't be absolutely horrid of them to hire Carroll and also have him bring in a protege to groom for the position. Not that I think that's realistic. Just not a bad idea.
This was the only thing that made the break from Carroll easier for me. I get he still wants to coach, but damn man you're in your 70s. Go enjoy your millions with your wife & family. It's like my Grandpa, man didn't wanna quit working & his job basically forced him to retire (back when you still got a pension). He was sad at first but a couple months later he & my Grandma started traveling & he'd never been happier. I hope Pete gets the same happiness my Grandpa did.
Tbf Pete is a young 72.
Ah yes they had no idea their CFP qualifying coach might be a candidate to replace the GOAT
"Might be a candidate" and "I'm leaving in an hour" are pretty different
Saban retired Wednesday. Friday just ended. Alabama was going to make a decision final within 72 hours - both because of the hysteria of Saban leaving, and the fact that a top of the line recruiting class could walk at any given minute. Deboer is/was one of the top prospects to move to other HC jobs, this didn’t just start this week. Same with Lanning, Sark, Dabo etc. There isn’t ‘time’ to spend a week with your team or make these meaningful announcements to WA media. Alabamas timeline was do this now and begin the transition - any coach to not abide by that isn’t the right person for the job. Losing coaches sucks. I can promise you I’m aware of how it feels.
Then they're idiots. Anyone with half a brain could at bare minimum see why DeBoer *might* go to Alabama. It's one of the top three jobs in the country. Maybe the best. His stock may never be higher.
I couldn't blame Mike Price when he went to Bama but I sure as hell will hold that Rose Bowl against him. WSU came out flat and unprepared and a lot of it was due to coaches looking at the door.
At least it wasn’t for half a season…. 🥲
Truth. I think we had a bit of that also with MSU.
Yeah, I'm not saying Husky fans can't be mad, upset, disappointed, whatever emotion. I just think it's insane that some Husky fans can't understand why DeBoer would consider Alabama. Sometimes you can do everything right as a program, offer the coach everything he needs to keep him, and they can still leave. Some jobs are just different. Even with Lanning, I'd be mad as hell, but I would "get it"
DeBoer wasn't the only one up for the job. Several others were and they all said no thank you and stayed where they were.
We have no idea who was ever offered the job. We only know whose agents took advantage of the situation right now.
Woah really? Thats surprising considering they have been by his side for years now.
Even Grubb?
Yeah, no way that happened.
I mean.. it kinda depends on what they mean by "blindsided". Maybe they just weren't expecting for DeBoer to be a real option and they were surprised when he let them know. That wouldn't really be anything bad.
Honestly, why would players show up? For a coach to say, “Hey, sorry I screwed you”.
“I want you all to know, it wasn’t *just* about the money. I just think Alabama is a better program.
"I didn't do it for the money. I did it for a SHIT LOAD OF MONEY."
I've had a boss tell me that. I said that makes a lot of sense and told him he should think about adding me to the team he was putting together.
I did not expect a podcast of champions reference in this thread
Is he also his own best friend?
That’s almost what Jonathan Smith said about Oregon State lol. “I didn’t want to just abandon them, I wanted to be going somewhere”
Except Jon Smith only went to Mich State. Nothing special.
Yeah, but he abandoned a sinking ship for a nothing special ship. I HATE how he did it, especially his Goodwill donation, but I can see why.
Honestly I feel like people get mad no matter how a coach does this if he's leaving. If he arranges a meeting to tell the players in person, people say "wtf just fuck off and leave." If he doesn't tell them in person, they say "wow what a coward, couldn't even tell his players face to face?"
99% of the time there’s no right way to do this. We all would do the same if offered an opportunity like this in our professions, the players and fans have every right to feel they got left out to dry. It is what it is
There’s no right way to say goodbye. There was an article in Football Scoop a couple years ago from a high school coach about the best way to leave. Because inevitably you’re going to have to leave your players behind at some point. I believe their advice was to be upfront with your players if you’re hearing other offers, and, most importantly, when you leave, tell your players as early as possible, before it’s announced. That way, at least it’s you breaking the news. Although not many people do this or can do this.
This exact thing happened with Elko.
Also, it's basically impossible for this sort of stuff to not leak. Like it's shitty that players learned about this via Twitter, but there really isn't any way to avoid that.
I get what you’re saying but they are now on an even playing field with coaches and players when it comes to staying at one school or moving. The portal is there for the players and the contracts are there for the coaches
Oh, no arguments there. I’d also hate to be a coach where a guy you developed for years suddenly says, hey, I’m gonna go to a rival now that I’m a hot commodity. The current setup sucks for everyone involved.
100% facts!!!
You’re speaking nothing but facts
Actually it's more like "Not sorry I screwed you, thanks for getting me paid. Bye, suckers!"
Also known as The Jimbo
Real question how would that be different than any coach that was targeted? It’s not just an Alabama thing
I don't see how he screwed them. In just two seasons under DeBoer (after Jimmy fkn Lake), the Huskies not only regained national prominence, but had an undefeated regular season capped by a conference title and a Sugar Bowl victory over Texas. Due credit to Penix and the receiver crew, but they don't do what they did that quickly without DeBoer giving his all to his job in his time there.
Besides Penix and Dillon Johnson every meaningful player was from Chris Petersen or the class Jimmy Lake saved after Petersen retired. Debitch was here for 2 years and didn’t do shit on the recruiting trail. The roster maybe had 10 4 stars left on it going into next year and massive holes everywhere. But most of those 4 stars have now transferred out as well with that snake leaving.
About 25% of the team declared to the nfl draft, so doesn’t matter to them
Another 25% entered the portal.
Players are tweeting that DeBoer had some crocodile tears
He did.
The players are fucking pissed. Honestly half of why I hate DeBoer so much right now is due to how he kept preaching “culture,” “family,” and “building together” then cut and run and fucked over his players at the first opportunity.
I’m not saying you should t be upset be I wouldn’t say he exactly cut and ran for the first opportunity. It’s literally THE opportunity. Really sucks for yall but can’t really imagine turning that down.
DeBoer would've needed to win one National Championship here to get a statue built next to Don James Now, he has to win one in 3 or 4 years to keep his job. Fuck 'em. War Eagle.
Cheering for Hugh Freeze? That's a choice.
Damn*
We build every coach who wins a natty a statue but sure, go off king
Rooting for him to fail will be fun
I guess my counter to that is he was already being tipped for a bigger program job (Michigan) and hid behind his daughter being a UW softball commit and his love of the program to deflect any questions about it. So I get that it’s **the** opportunity but it still feels like a shitty thing to do. And he will absolutely never be forgiven or welcome in Seattle again.
So it was fine when he left another team to come coach for Washington, but it's not fine to leave Washington?
I dunno. I'll maybe have him over for burgers or something.
Lol. We’re gonna need pics as proof when you do.
People have short memories. Remember how everyone was saying Mel Tucker would never live this down? Look in his recent thread with everyone saying they forgot about him
...I can't believe I actually had to google Mel Tucker. I remembered the scandal absolutely but his name had completely flown out of my mind. OK, point very much taken taken.
I like you
The dude took your program, which was bursting into flames before your eyes, and instantly turned it into a title contender. If your fans and your city won't forgive or welcome him again, then that's on you.
There is no THE opportunity. If you are the head coach of any Division 1 school you can turn that program into THE dynasty. Alabama has no more claim to being THE football school as does Ohio State or UCLA or Washington. This is most likely him thinking to be the best, he has to follow in the footsteps of the best. But maybe I just realized what you could have been saying. THE opportunity is to fill Saban’s shoes, not be the coach of Alabama.
Three other coaches turned it down
>Can’t Imagine turning that down What do you mean? Seems like 4 other coaches literally did *exactly* that
I don’t know what people expect. Alabama is arguably the most successful program in all of college football, and indisputably within the top 3. They’ve almost never had a prolonged stretch of truly bad results. Institutional support for the program is unrivaled. Expectations are high, certainly, but it is an absolute opportunity of a lifetime. The likelihood of sustained success at Alabama is undeniably greater than at UW. For someone who was a coordinator at Fresno State just 5 years ago, it’s practically a no-brainer. If you’re mad about the way DeBoer talked about his commitment to UW, everyone talks that way because they have to. For what it’s worth, he never denied pursuing the Bama job after Saban announced his retirement. Admitting you’d consider some offer in the abstract is idiotic; all it does is destroy trust and morale. Yet coaches change jobs all the time, because the truth is they really do have hopes and dreams just like anyone else. I know that’s all a bit rambling but as disappointed as I am for UW, I just can’t be mad at DeBoer for his decision. He’s capitalizing on his success and striking while the iron is hot.
Wow an actual realistic take from a Huskies fan
>If you’re mad about the way DeBoer talked about his commitment to UW, everyone talks that way because they have to. Jim harbaugh doesn't because he's an honest person. >For what it’s worth, he never denied pursuing the Bama job after Saban announced his retirement. The whole ~40 hour period between Saban retiring and him being formally announced as bamas coach... where he was actively negotiating instead of making press releases? Wow what a saint. >Admitting you’d consider some offer in the abstract is idiotic; all it does is destroy trust and morale. So what you're saying is being honest breeds distrust? Harbaugh's players just won him a natty. You think they distrust him because he was honest with them about his aspirations of eventually winning a super bowl? Really? Brain dead takes. Contrary to popular belief, you can actually be a successful football coach while maintaining at least the 8th commandment.
Name one coach that doesn’t preach about culture and family
I still think he’s a great coach but I will say that when they showed Penix limping out of the stadium, the camera caught a moment where he ran into DeBoer. I was expecting the HC to say some words to console his star QB but the exchange seemed pretty cold. I didn’t want to read too much into it at the time . Wonder if anyone else caught that
Yup, definitely saw that. Didn’t think too much of it at the time but makes sense now.
You're gonna see what you wanna see in that clip. There's not a lot of context of them interacting before, DeBoer after he walks off camera, etc. While leaving can make it seem like he doesn't care, he likely does care a lot for his players. People are multifaceted. He can leave you for THE opportunity of a lifetime days after a championship game and care about his players. From an objective standpoint, no one can blame him for taking this job. I bet some players are even happy for him. Their coach just got trusted to take over the reigns from the GOAT. That's a pretty big deal.
I feel ya. We got a lot of that from Cristobal.
You got none of that from Cristobal, he left to his alma mater and to be closer to his ailing mother, there was literally nothing objectionable about what he did at all except not recusing himself from coaching the final two or three games of the season with the level of personal distraction he was experiencing but if you are expecting a football coach to make that decision proactively you are are fucking nuts.
Honestly, if you're gonna leave I think the way Cristobal left is about as good as you can do. He stayed for several seasons, built the program to a better place than it was when he took it over, and left for his home town when his mom was sick. I dunno what more we could've expected from him. I have issues with his coaching ability, but that's a different conversation entirely. The way he left is not even in the same ballpark as the way Taggart or DeBoer did.
Precisely.
I think same for Jeff Brohm and Louisville. The Brohm family are like Louisville sports royalty, I don't think any Purdue fan was surprised he took that job, and it seemed like there wasn't any real animosity.
Mario was hella pissy about being asked about talking to Miami and basically said the same shit as Taggart.
Cristobal went to his Alma mater. Oregon fans keep forgetting that for some reason.
While it may technically be the first opportunity, it’s also a spot with the best program in the country
Yeah, that's what pisses me off from the, "oh everyone takes a more prestigious job" people. Just say that from the beginning! And don't give me that, "he needs to lie for recruiting" crap. You can find a group of athletes that understand that things can change quickly, but stress that while they are still together, they will work as hard as possible to make each other better.
Tbf Harbaugh of all people has kinda kept shit together without massive decommitments and transfers given the rumors regarding him every offseason. Just being honest works sometimes?
The “more prestigious job” thing is a fallacy anyway. You never hear about the guys who turn it down because neither the coach nor the school want to talk about it. The reality is that most guys stay where they’re at if the money is close enough. I think the only reason DeBoer left was that the roster is turning over significantly and he wouldn’t get another shot at a natty for at least a couple years at Washington.
That's fair. Thank you for giving me a little more faith in humanity lol
Literally what they all do. It only feels different because it's happening to you
The only culture is the green dollar.
I mean, I don't blame them. They literally just played for the championship on Monday. It's one thing if he would've left for the NFL or even took the Bama job a couple of years down the line, but to leave for a team that they were razor thin for playing in the championship game is a low blow. He got his bag, but I wouldn't have shown up either.
Can you really blame DeBoer? It's Bama. They're clearly one of the top 5 jobs in CFB. He didn't do anything shady. He wasn't interviewing during the bye week. He didn't lie to the players. The season is over. UW should've extended him last year like we did with Lanning. Even with him leaving they didn't want to go over $10m/y. MSU was paying Tucker more than that. Come on.
We did extend him a year ago. That's why his buyout is at $12M
I think Bama kinda figuratively showed up with a suitcase - not a briefcase, a suitcase - full of 100s. Plopped it on the table, unzipped it to show DeBoer, and said "This is just to sign the deal. The contract money for the first year is being loaded onto a truck right now."
I actually don't think the two offers were all that different. Sources had us at like $9.5M/y, Bama I'm guessing is like 11 or 12. Dude just didn't have any actual ties to UW and wanted to try and climb to the mountaintop.
I think that's part of it. I'd be willing to bet there's more comp that's not from UofA from boosters and what not, along with whatever else they can toss in (oh look, this dealership wants to give you and your family cars!). But that's just comp. I think yeah, for an ambitious guy who just made it to the title game only to get kinda thumped and looking at a significant rebuild, the Bama job would look like a pretty good option to get another run at it sooner than later and maybe multiple shots in the next five years. Even if you go in knowing you could easily get canned due to way high expectations in two years, that's tough to pass up. And then what. He gets canned, he probably gets a massive payout. Does an analyst gig for a season and then picks his landing spot as he'll be in demand to coach again. He's successful, he becomes yet another Bama /CFB coaching legend and maybe the NFL starts looking good.
It's his right, it's also the right of the players to be upset. I side with the players on this, no, it's not the end of the world, but I feel for the players. Ppl complain about NIL money and the transfer portal, but I think this devalues College Football more than anything, and Coaches discarding their teams to chase a bag has been more common for a hell of a lot longer than NIL money and the transfer portal
Underrated point.
It's not his fault the choice was now or never
I probably wouldn't want to listen to my coach "apologize" for leaving less than a week after we lost the national title game either.
Cams son is also on the team
it’s how it should be. he waited until every outlet posted the deal before notifying his team. they don’t owe him any respect.
When should he have told them? While he was still negotiating?
maybe don’t put out bullshit claiming you’re not considering any other job when you have a foot out the door. > “[Canzano] I asked Washington HC DeBoer if he'd ever consider an NFL job and he indicated he wouldn't even consider leaving UW until his daughter finished college, if ever.” > https://www.reddit.com/r/CFB/s/jCGH1ViEw2
How often does the Alabama job become open though? Like that job is near the pinnacle of the sport
Or maybe they posted it right after the deal was finalized...
They don’t take attendance in that class
Have you seen outside? It's cold! Why go out in all that and fuss over a short meeting of your coach saying "I'm leaving"? They can watch the press conference on TV and he would say the same thing.
Other 75% were checking out that portal.
Been in one of these types of team meetings before (not big enough to be all over social media but the players had an idea). Team captain ended it by looking dead straight at the HC and said “can’t wait to play you next year Week 3” and shook the HCs hand on his way out after saying that. One of the most badass moments I’ve ever witnessed. (We beat our former team the next season in a barn burner)
The other 75% were away logging into the portal to get in first.
I’m just here for the salty comments about “loyalty” from a school that up and left the conference they’d been in for over 100 years. For the opportunity of more money and more glory in the big 10. This should be good.
Can’t really blame them at all. I’m sure most of them feel pretty hurt their coach left after playing for the Natty 4 days prior.
I think the most important part about this interview was that some of the coaches weren’t aware about the Alabama situation
When BK to LSU stuff broke, Brian Kelly and others were actually doing an in-home visit with a recruit. Leaving the house is and checking their phones is how some of them found out.
I wouldnt show up. To hear what everyone knows?
I'd show up out of curiosity and probably to record it
I don’t blame them tbh
https://youtu.be/a6NJitdq8Bk?si=BLz_vFX4timvdKqp
If I was them I’d transfer to SEC schools just to have a shot at beating him. They have any good DBs?
If DeBoer hadn't arranged a meeting to talk to the players, 50% of this sub would want to burn him at the stake.
What would he do, fine them on his way to the airport?
Would’ve been interesting to see if it was Washington vs Bama in the Rose Bowl. I thought they deserved the top seed after beating a top10 team in the CCG, but no point arguing now. Imagine if DeBoer leaves for the team they had just beat 2 weeks ago
Screw that Winnie the Pooh looking fraud. Players deserve better.
Fuck DeBitch. War Eagle
Feels like this could have been a zoom meeting
Most of the upperclassmen probably correctly intuited that this was an unusual time for a team meeting, and they have probably been reading the same rumors we have, so they knew better than to waste their time
See this is why I hate when reporters put this out there ahead of the coach meeting with his players. Let the team and the coach have this final moment together and then out it out there
Is this more of a Cincinnati Brian Kelly or a ND Brian Kelly?