Kalen DeBoer comes close to tears as he delivers emotional message to his former Washington players at his first Alabama press conference: ‘I love ya, I will miss ya, I want nothing but the best for everyone back there’

Newly hired Alabama football coach Kalen DeBoer may be entering his dream job, but that didn’t make it any easier to leave his Washington Huskies players behind.

At his introductory press conference on Monday in Tuscaloosa, the 49-year-old DeBoer directed an emotional message back to the Huskies’ locker room in Seattle.

‘I just wanted to tell everyone cause I know they’re watching, I just want to tell you guys I love ya, I will miss ya and, you know, I want nothing but the best for everyone back there,’ DeBoer said.

A day earlier, DeBoer informed his now-former Huskies players that he would be replacing Nick Saban at Alabama following Washington’s dramatic 2023 season that ended with a Pac-12 title and an appearance in the College Football Playoff championship.

He also offered an emotional message to his new Crimson Tide players, who are, themselves, getting over Saban’s departure.