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HOUSTON – Troy Dannen had been on the job as Washington’s athletics director for a mere handful of days when the Huskies notched a 36-33 win over Oregon that launched them into national championship contention on Oct. 14.
As the game ended and the tension of the moment transformed into a locker room celebration, Dannen observed that his coach, Kalen DeBoer, had barely changed the serious but serene facial expression he maintained on the sideline. If DeBoer’s blood pressure was spiking or adrenaline rushing after arguably the biggest win of his career, Dannen couldn’t tell.
“No emotion out of him, no nothing,” Dannen said. “I didn’t know the guy.”
Dannen, a veteran administrator who had been around a lot of coaches after big wins, was intrigued by the reaction – or lack thereof. After the party spilled out of the locker room and into the hallway, he pulled DeBoer aside to ask a question.
“Are you OK?”
What Dannen would come to find out, and what the nation would subsequently learn as Washington pulled out one close game after another, is that DeBoer is more than OK. In fact, the 49-year-old South Dakotan who was coaching NAIA ball until 2010 and had never worked at a power conference program until Indiana hired him as offensive coordinator in 2019 might be as icy under pressure as anyone in the entire sport.
Just look at the evidence.
On Sept. 30, with the Huskies clinging to a seven-point lead at Arizona, DeBoer went for a fourth-and-1 with 10 seconds left – and got it to end the game rather than kick the ball away.
On Nov. 18 against Oregon State, needing one more first down conversion to ice the game with just under 2 minutes left, DeBoer and offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb didn’t just try to get a first down. With ESPN commentator Kirk Herbstreit on the broadcast calling for a zone-read type of play,…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/did-washington-reach-national-title-123021386.html
Author : USA TODAY Sports
Publish date : 2024-01-07 12:30:21
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