Kalen DeBoer quietly made CFP history in Alabama’s win over Oklahoma

There was a portion of Alabama’s fanbase that was ready to run Kalen DeBoer out of Tuscaloosa after a Week 1 loss to Florida State, but it’s just about undeniable that DeBoer is one of the best coaches in college football, especially after Friday night. 

With the Crimson Tide’s 34-24 win over Oklahoma in Norman, DeBoer became the first head coach in the College Football Playoff era to win a CFP game with multiple different schools. In 2023, his second season at Washington, DeBoer led the Huskies to the National Championship Game with a College Football Playoff semifinal win over Texas in the Sugar Bowl, before falling to Michigan in the National Championship Game.  

Kalen DeBoer is the only coach with a CFP win at two different schools

The reality of that piece of history is that most coaches who do win CFP games aren’t likely to leave for another program, especially during the four-team era, when it was even more difficult to notch a CFP win. DeBoer, though, found himself in a unique position as the hottest name on the market right when Nick Saban decided to retire. 

Most of the programs capable of fielding a CFP team have the resources to hold onto the head coach who led them there. The only other head coaches with CFP appearances who left for another college head coaching job without being fired are Jimbo Fisher, who went from Florida State to Texas A&M; Brian Kelly, who left Notre Dame for LSU; and Luke Fickell, who made the jump from Cincinnati to Wisconsin. Of that group, DeBoer is the only one to get back to the CFP. Fisher and Kelly have both since been fired, and Fickell is on a scorching hot seat at Wisconsin. 

That proves how difficult it is to win at multiple places, and how unique a coach DeBoer is. He’s a long way from living up to the Saban standard, but he’s exceeded the benchmark set by the other few head coaches who traveled a similar path. 

DeBoer is now 2-1 in CFP games all-time between Washington and Alabama, giving him the same number of CFP wins as Jim Harbaugh, Ed Orgeron, and Urban Meyer, who all coached exclusively in the four-team era, and Steve Sarkisian and James Franklin, who notched their CFP victories in the 12-team format. DeBoer trails Nick Saban, who still leads the sport with nine CFP wins, Dabo Swinney (6), Kirby Smart (5), Ryan Day (5), and Marcus Freeman (3). 

DeBoer can continue to work his way up that list with a Rose Bowl win over Indiana in the CFP quarterfinals, where the Tide are a touchdown underdog.