Washington focusing on Fresno State's Kalen DeBoer for head-coaching job?

The Washington Huskies appear to have identified a leading candidate for their vacant head coach position.

Fresno State head coach Kalen DeBoer has emerged as a “strong candidate” for the Washington job, according to John Brice of Football Scoop. Nothing is official, but with the Huskies not involved in the Pac-12 Championship, it appears the school could move quickly to try to hire DeBoer away from the Bulldogs.

DeBoer is in his second season as Fresno State’s coach, and has overseen a quick turnaround. The 47-year-old has the Bulldogs at 9-3 on the season, a big turnaround after two consecutive middling campaigns. Before his current job, he spent one season as offensive coordinator at Indiana in 2019.

The Huskies are looking for stability after firing Jimmy Lake, whose tenure turned particularly tumultuous in 2021. DeBoer checks a lot of boxes, both in terms of turning around a program and his experience working and recruiting on the West Coast.