Alabama Coach Kalen DeBoer Agrees to Massive 7-Year Extension
Kalen DeBoer is staying in Tuscaloosa, and Alabama made sure to lock that in with a deal worth the weight.
The University of Alabama System Board of Trustees Compensation Committee approved a contract extension for the Alabama Crimson Tide head coach on Wednesday. The new deal adds two more years to his current contract, keeping DeBoer in Tuscaloosa through January 31, 2033, with an average annual salary of $12.5 million across seven years, per the team's official site.
The timing isn't lost on anyone. The Michigan Wolverines had recently explored DeBoer as a candidate for its head coaching vacancy, and the extension came shortly after that conversation surfaced publicly.
DeBoer shared his thoughts on the new extension.
"We are excited about the opportunity to continue our time in Tuscaloosa with this contract extension," he said, via the team's official site. "This University has become a special place to us, and I look forward to working to ensure that Alabama football remains at the forefront of college football. This program has a long history of success and an unmatched tradition that I was eager to be a part of two years ago, and I cannot wait to keep coaching our guys and bring more championships to Alabama."
The updated contract also lays out a clear buyout structure. DeBoer's buyout sits at $10 million through January 2027, drops to $8 million in 2028 and comes down further to $6 million by January 2029.
The numbers behind DeBoer make the investment easier to understand. In two seasons at Alabama, he's 20-8. Across 11 years as a college head coach, his overall record stands at 124-20. Since 2021, he has recorded 20 wins over ranked opponents, the second-highest total among active coaches in that span.
His 2025 season added more to that case. The Crimson Tide went 11-4, made the SEC Championship Game, reached the College Football Playoff and knocked off eighth-ranked Oklahoma in the postseason.
That win was Alabama's fifth over a ranked team that season and four of those victories came in back-to-back weeks during the regular season, setting a new SEC record.
Still, not everyone in the Alabama fanbase is fully sold. Back-to-back four-loss seasons have kept questions alive, and that discomfort hasn't faded quietly. Despite that, athletic director Greg Byrne has remained steady in his support for DeBoer and the program's leadership hasn't flinched.
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This story was originally published April 22, 2026 at 2:33 PM.