All he does is win - Kalen DeBoer's pedigree speaks for itself - ESPN

NEW ORLEANS — Kalen DeBoer has been here before. Not in the same way Nick Saban has. But on the eve of the College Football Playoff semifinal, two wins away from a national title, Washington's second-year head coach is very much in his element.

DeBoer's first trip to a semifinal as a head coach was 18 years ago. The accommodations were a bit different then. Coaches shared rooms on the road. There wasn't an army of volunteers catering to the team's every need. And Carroll College's 4,000-seat Nelson Stadium in Helena, Montana — the site of 2005 NAIA semifinal — wasn't exactly the storied Superdome.

From the outside, there's a world of difference between the stakes then and now — with tens of millions of people who will be paying attention — but the internal desire to win hasn't changed. All-in is all-in, regardless of how many other people care.

«We understand what's at stake here,» DeBoer said. «We win, we get to move on, we get to have the next biggest game of our life. But for right now, this is that one.»

In five seasons as coach at the tiny University of Sioux Falls (South Dakota), DeBoer built his alma mater into a bona fide NAIA powerhouse. DeBoer won as many national titles and had as many undefeated seasons as he had losses (three), amassing a 67-3 overall record with a 17-2 mark in the playoffs.

It was during those years when Washington's current brain trust — including offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb and co-defensive coordinator Chuck Morrell — developed a remarkable level of trust and understanding that made this season's undefeated run to the Pac-12 title possible.

Lengthy bus rides. Laundry duty. Meager salaries. VHS film sessions. It was all part of the process that Washington is benefitting from. Other