Kalen DeBoer Introductory Press Conference Transcript
Kalen DeBoer Introductory Press Conference Transcript
December 17, 2019 – 2:00 p.m. PTDirector of Athletics Terry Tumey
"First and foremost I want to thank everyone for being here with us today. This is a great time for our university and for athletics. I'm going to being this occasion with some well-deserved thank yous. I think that it's important that we thank our executive leadership. President Castro whose guidance, support, and leadership has been so refreshing as we go through and find the next leader of our football program. President Castro I truly thank you for your support."
"Believe it or not as an athletic director we like to know that we have the support of our campus and community leaders as we do things. I was blessed with an amazing search committee. The search committee, as you know, was nimble, it was quick, and most importantly it was really good in terms of its depth of knowledge as we looked for our next leader. So I would like to thank Debbie Astone, our vice president, for her contributions. She was amazing. Dr. Dawn Lewis, our faculty athletics representative and our community member, Mr. Brian Pannish. All of which were amazing in their help. I even have to give a little bit of a shout out to one of the best volunteers going, Dr. Castro's wife, Mary Castro, took time out of her special day to help assist us and I really appreciate Mary for helping us. And finally as we move forward in terms of thank you's, I'd be remised if I did not thank, and really appreciate the advisement of our former head coach Jeff Tedford. Jeff has been a tremendous resource in so many ways in terms of understanding the magnitude of this position, way beyond that of the field of play, and helping me understand what's necessary to fulfill this very important position for our Valley community and leadership that it takes, and I want to thank him for that."
"As we think about this position, I want you to think about the person that we were looking for was somewhat special, almost like a unicorn, you don't find these people all the time. We needed a person that had unparalleled success as a head coach, and I think we found that person. I don't care if you're playing in a sandlot or coaching at the highest level of football, when you're a head coach and you can finish 67-3 as a head coach, that's an amazing statistic. It doesn't matter what level that's in. That's an amazing feat. We also needed a person who has had success at every stop they've made in their career. If you look at our new head coach's history, you'll see that every place he has been, he has started in one place, and ascended to another. That is truly remarkable. That's the type of trajectory that our student-athletes at Fresno State deserve. Lastly, we needed someone with tremendous integrity and character, which are the hallmarks of our football leadership here at Fresno State. If you think about the wonderful people who have been in this position: Sweeney, Hill and Tedford. Those men, their moniker, their success was based on a couple things. Tremendous athletic acumen and having great capacity. The capacity that I'm talking about is their ability to invest in our student-athletes' experience. The love that they have for students and the educational experience is unparalleled. So with that, I am going to present to you what I consider a proven winner, a champion, a person who understands player development, and a man of high integrity and character, and fortunate for us, our new head coach, Kalen DeBoer."
Head Coach Kalen DeBoer
"Wow. This is amazing. At some point while I was here, it was a dream to be in this position - it really was. There are so many people I have been surrounded by who I would like to thank through all of this, but there is no way I could get through them all. That would take a long time. There are a few people, though, that I want to thank before I get in to talking about our football program here at Fresno State. First and foremost, my wife Nicole and my two daughters Alexis and Avery. We absolutely loved our time in the Valley from 2017-18. I have some softball girls and they get a lot of time outside here in this beautiful California weather. They are fired up to get out here. My wife is an amazing coach's wife. She understands my passion and my purpose to serving our men that get to wear the Bulldog uniform each week. She understands how important it is and she is so supportive. They are the reason why I am here. Next, I would like to thank President Castro and Mr. Tumey, and of course the search committee who was involved in bringing me here. It is an incredible honor and they know my passion for this place and I cannot wait to share it with everyone for the next...well, really, forever. I love everything this program stands for. There is a very special person I need to thank and that is Jeff Tedford. I wouldn't have been here the first time if it wasn't for what Jeff Tedford did. After getting the first phone call from him in December 2016, I didn't know what to think of that. He had the utmost effort, turned over every stone to find his coordinator, went almost all the way across the country. I don't know how it happened, I really don't. I couldn't be any more blessed to have worked for such a phenomenal football coach and be taught the tradition of Bulldog pride and Bulldog football. I know he has certainly left this football program in a great position. This program is not broken. I looked at this year's record and it could be flipped the exact opposite way just like that. I can't wait to carry on the foundation that he has set, as well as many other coaches have."
On the current coaching staff and 2019 signing day…
"I also know that the current staff here has been in limbo trying to get a signing class together for tomorrow. I know they worked extremely hard because of their passion for Bulldog football as well. I thank them for everything they have done and I am certainly looking forward to seeing all of those guys as well."
On talking to the team…
"When I talked to the team a little bit ago, I burst into excitement after seeing those faces. How could you not when Netane Muti is sitting right in front of you? The guys I had the chance to recruit, and now I come back and watch some finish out their careers. I shared with them that my goal as their head football coach is to make playing football one of the most exciting times of their lives. I will put everything into them to make sure that happens. This is the time that they will meet the best man in their wedding and meet guys that they will know forever. I saw their faces and told them 'we are going to go and we are going to be back in the Mountain West Championship football game'. The sky's the limit. We are not going to be pulling against each other, we are going to be pushing in the same direction. I asked them to finish out classes, and then to get ready to compete and to love each other, and continue to build the chemistry that really makes Bulldog football what it's all about."
On his goal with the team...
"My goal is to give them the greatest experience of their lives and I will do that by loving them. That is what I was always taught, and the way I have always coached. It comes in building relationships and earning trust. They really don't care how much I know until they know how much I care. That is the way our coaching staff is going to come across as we step on the football field and work with them each and every day. We will push them to understand what it's like to be great. I can't wait to get to work with the staff and reach our goal in getting back to the Mountain West Championship and back to what Bulldog football is all about. There is a great foundation here. There is no doubt in my mind that we are right where we need to be with what Jeff Tedford has instilled into this program. I am also excited about the continuity that exists and us quickly taking this thing to greater heights. I know 12-2 is the greatest this program has ever seen, and that was a year ago. That is my expectation, and I am not shy at putting it out there. We are going to win football games here. We are going to do it the right way with integrity. You are going to be proud. We are going to have a first class football program where these guys represent our community and the Valley."
On his expectations…
"I can't wait to fill Bulldog Stadium and create excitement. We are going to be a tough football team, which is just what Bulldog football is all about. We are going to play with passion and grit. It is going to be an exciting time and I cannot wait to get out there with them, roll up the sleeves and get to work."
Closing statement...
"It is about family. When I left here, it was probably the hardest thing I have ever done in my coaching career. I get emotional thinking about that. I was torn on what to do because I know what this place is all about and what it represents. I am so blessed to be back here and in this position. I cannot wait to serve you and the entire community here at Fresno State. Thank you and go 'Dogs!"
Open Q&A with Head Coach Kalen DeBoer
On coming back to Fresno State…
"Coming back here is extremely comfortable for me. One, because there's a confidence in knowing what it takes to get to the spots we want to be, winning conference championships and beyond, and two, knowing the foundation that was laid here because of Jeff Tedford and all the work that his staff has put in."
On the future of the current staff…
"That is certainly something we're going to be talking about and evaluating. I'm going to meet with each of them individually, see where their heads are at. What I'll promise is that we will have a staff that's extremely cohesive, great recruiters and that chemistry will certainly filter down to the rest of the players on this team. They'll see it. They'll know the love that we share for each other and that we're all in this together."
On his thoughts when hearing that Jeff Tedford stepped down…
"There's no question that when Jeff step aside, I knew exactly that this is what I wanted to do. When I think about opportunities and places I want to coach, as soon as I stepped on this campus, I was like this is a place that I can love coaching at. When I left I was hoping that one day this opportunity would come around. Under the circumstances that this has happened, it's certainly a little bittersweet because love is a strong word and I don't use it loosely, I told the players this as well, I love Jeff Tedford, I really do. You guys see the football coach that is extremely, smart, talented, relates to players, has great command of game management and his staff, but working with him every day for two years I got to see Jeff Tedford the human being. Him walking into my office asking me about my kids pretty much every day, there's more to it than football in his mind, that's how I want to be as a football coach too. I want this to be about community. I want this to be about family. He's special. Like I said it's bittersweet that it happened this way, been fine if it happened 10 years from now but it's the way it happened so I'm excited to be here now."
On why it was the right time to be a head coach again…
"I've always coached not trying to get to a certain spot, not to be at a certain job. Wherever I'm at I've just always taken on that job as hard as I can. I've been able to do that because of the support at home, my family, and them knowing that this is my passion and also because I love working with the people that I've been with. Everywhere I've been, I've been with good people. I can't say that if I was feeling that in 2020, I wanted to be a head football coach. If it happened five years ago, it would've been awesome. If it happened 10 years from now, it would've been great as well. I know I'm ready for this opportunity."
On Tedford's thoughts of him taking over…
"He knows how I feel about him and I know how he feels about me. He's super excited for me personally but he's also excited about this program and knowing that it's in good hands so to speak. The confidence that he has in me to bring a good staff together and unite them. I just think he cares about Bulldog football that that's his number one priority. He wants to see it succeed. He's not so proud of his accomplishments, he would love to see it do even greater things than what he was able to do in his years here as the head football coach as well."
On the timing of his hiring coming on the eve of signing day…
"The staff has worked extremely hard, they just had a big weekend this past weekend with many guys on campus. For us to be able to talk to those guys tonight, for them to know who their football coach is, I think is really critical for us to build this class that I think has a lot of talented players. I think it was great timing for us to be able to pull it together. I think there will still be some spots that are open that we'll be able to evaluate and help fill in January and maybe beyond."
On coaching at different levels of football…
"I think that when it comes to coaching football from what I've seen at different levels, I don't care if it was small college level or if it was in the Big 10, football is football. Bringing a team together is done in similar ways depending on your style. It doesn't matter where you're at. Obviously there's a talent difference, a depth difference, there's a way you recruit in organizing a staff that's recruiting and every place you're working at has different territories but in the end, football is football. I've seen that building a team has certain key elements, the chemistry, the love for each other."
On what needs to be done in the immediate future…
"The things that we have to make sure that we have in place are the staff and the recruiting class today because of the urgency for tomorrow and then I think just getting the staff together to where we can be working through Christmas but when we get back after New Year's, be ready to roll. There's this dead time where you can't be on the road and just having a plan in place to where when it becomes active and we can have contact again that we're out in the Valley spreading the message that we as a new staff have. For sure we'll be saturating the Valley come the middle of January with our staff. Those are the two most important things. The schemes will get put together, the continuity of our staff will help with that. I'm sure there will be new systematic things that we will put in place, even things in the last year that I've grown on and had done that we'll bring to the offense. That will be the priorities here in the next couple days, the next couple weeks."
On what his brand of football will look like…
"What makes it so easy and comfortable for me is a lot of what my stamp is continuation of what it already was here. Tough, physical football that has dynamic players. An exciting brand to watch. I know that we have to have a defense that's going to help us win championships. I do feel that that's the case but an offense that's explosive, you can't win unless you score enough points. I think consistency is one of the best things that I have whether in my personal life or throughout the year coaching football. I just want us to be a consistent football program that continues to climb each and every day and each and every year."
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