TAMPA, Fla. — Sitting next to Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. after the Huskies 2022 Alamo Bowl win against Texas , Kalen DeBoer wanted to sit, celebrate and bask in the success.
It was a culmination of everything DeBoer and the Huskies had worked toward, one that showcased physicality, one that showcased Washington's ability to "find a way to win."
But DeBoer knew it meant something greater, something bigger. And he was fired up.
"I really still think that there's so much room and area for us to improve," DeBoer said. "That's the scary thing."
Washington improved. It won 14 games in 2023, beating Texas again in the College Football Playoff in the Sugar Bowl before losing to Michigan in the CFP national championship game. Days later, DeBoer was named as Nick Saban's successor with Alabama football.
Nearly a year later, DeBoer, again, finds himself in a non-CFP bowl. It's not the place he or Alabama wanted to be, narrowly missing a chance on playing in the first 12-team CFP.
But as he reflected on his first season at Alabama, even before Tuesday's ReliaQuest Bowl game against Michigan , DeBoer returned to similar talking points he gave sitting next to Penix.
"I think just finishing this year off with a positive would be big just for the direction for this team, to kind of put an end to it," DeBoer said.
All the ReliaQuest Bowl is to DeBoer and the Crimson Tide is a chance to move forward in the trajectory he feels Alabama is on.
"It's been a whirlwind of 11 months, but I like where we're at with the mindset, I like where we're at with how things are coming together," DeBoer said.
It's what Washington did in 2022.
The Huskies won 10 regular-season games. Washington had ranked wins against Michigan State, Oregon State and Oregon. Washington also had back-to-back conference road games at UCLA and at Arizona State which kept the Huskies out of the Pac-12 championship game and out of the College Football Playoff.
Alabama feels eerily similar.
The Crimson Tide won nine regular-season games. Alabama had ranked wins against Georgia, Missouri and LSU . Alabama also had road losses to Vanderbilt, Tennessee and Oklahoma which kept the Crimson Tide out of the SEC championship game and out of the College Football Playoff.
On Monday, a day before the culmination of his first season in Tuscaloosa, DeBoer was more focused what he wants to happen, how he wants Alabama to end the 2024 season.
"Looking forward to taking those next steps, and I think this bowl game can certainly help in that moving forward," DeBoer said.
Here's what DeBoer didn't say before the ReliaQuest Bowl that he did after the Alamo Bowl.
Every year is its own, DeBoer said. Nothing carries over, he said. No points, no wins. Everything starts over.
Those points will come, points DeBoer shared after he led a Washington team that "finished" the way it wanted to, leaving "fired up about what lies ahead."
DeBoer will soon find out if that same recipe can work at Alabama.
Colin Gay covers Alabama football for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at cgay@gannett.com or follow him @_ColinGay on X, formerly known as Twitter.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Why Alabama football 2024 season mirrors Kalen DeBoer 2022 season at Washington
