Washington coaching search: Several notable coaches linked to Huskies

Washington is expected to have a vacancy after Kalen DeBoer is widely expected to take the job at Alabama to replace Nick Saban.

ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported that possible names for Washington could be Kansas coach Lance Leipold, Arizona coach Jedd Fisch, Iowa State coach Matt Campbell, Washington offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb, UNLV coach Barry Odom, Kansas State coach Chris Klieman, Utah coach Kyle Whittingham, Wake Forest coach Dave Clawson and BYU coach Kalani Sitake.

Washington will be an attractive job. Officials there — for now — won’t have any college market competition. Quick list (no order): Lance Leipold, Jedd Fisch, Matt Campbell, Ryan Grubb, Barry Odom, Chris Klieman, Kyle Whittingham, Dave Clawson, Kalani Sitake.

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) January 12, 2024

Experience is something that could be an interesting aspect of the search since DeBoer, 49, is a former NAIA coach who led Washington to the national championship game in just his second season.

DeBoer led the Huskies to a 14-1 record that included a Pac-12 championship before they fell to No. 1 Michigan 34-13 in the national title game. DeBoer led the Huskies to a 25-3 record in 2 seasons after taking over a program that was 4-8 in 2021.