Kalen DeBoer


Kalen Douglas DeBoer is an American football coach. He is the head football coach at California State University, Fresno, a position he assumed in December 2019. DeBoer served as the head football coach at the University of Sioux Falls from 2005 to 2009.

Early life and education

Born and raised in Milbank, South Dakota, DeBoer graduated from Milbank High School. Attending the University of Sioux Falls, DeBoer played at wide receiver from 1993 to 1996 for the Sioux Falls Cougars under head coach Bob Young, setting school records for receptions, receiving yardage and touchdown catches and earned All-American honors. DeBoer was a student assistant at Sioux Falls in the 1997 after his football playing career ended, and he graduated in 1998 with a bachelor's degree in secondary education.
DeBoer also played baseball at Sioux Falls, hitting.520 with 10 home runs and 34 RBIs in his senior season of 1997. In 1998, DeBoer played one season of independent league baseball with the Canton Crocodiles as a left fielder.

Coaching career

After graduating from the University of Sioux Falls, DeBoer remained in the city of Sioux Falls, South Dakota as an assistant coach at Washington High School. After two years at Washington, DeBoer reunited with Bob Young and returned to his alma mater as offensive coordinator, a position he held from 2000 to 2004.
Following Young's retirement, Sioux Falls promoted DeBoer to head coach on December 1, 2004. As head coach from 2005 to 2009, DeBoer had a record of 67–3 and won three NAIA national championships in 2006, 2008, and 2009 and a runner-up appearance in 2007. Two of DeBoer's losses at Sioux Falls came at the hands of Mike Van Diest's national title-winning Carroll Fighting Saints squads in 2005 and 2007.
DeBoer was the offensive coordinator at Southern Illinois from 2010 to 2013 under Dale Lennon. He held the same position at Eastern Michigan University from 2014 to 2016 under Chris Creighton, at Fresno State from 2017 to 2018 under Jeff Tedford, and most recently at Indiana under Tom Allen in 2019. The Hoosiers averaged 443.6 yards per game under DeBoer that ranked second in Big Ten for the season.

Head coaching record