Alabama Football: 11 assistants poached from staff so far

Alabama football has already lost 11 assistants from this year’s staff

Nick Saban is used to replacing talented assistant coaches. It has been part of what has fueled Alabama football‘s dynasty for so long. As the game has changed, the coaching staff has brought new ideas and tactics to Tuscaloosa.

While that may be the case, the amount of poaching from this year’s award-winning staff is unparalleled. As of right now, Nick Saban already has lost 11 assistants from the 2020 staff.

Obviously, the biggest name to go was Steve Sarkisian. Nick Saban has already found Sark’s replacement, but there are some other names on the list that will have an impact. Sarkisian is bringing Kyle Flood, Jeff Banks and AJ Milwee to Austin. These were great assistants for Alabama football, but they were also excellent recruiters.

A recent loss was analyst Charlie Strong to the Jacksonville Jaguars. He will be joining Urban Meyer’s staff as a position coach.

The latest massive loss for the Crimson Tide was Charles Huff taking the head coaching job at Marshall. Huff has coached some of Alabama’s greatest running backs, and the Tide have a stable in 2021. He would have been able to help develop young stars like Keilan Robinson, Trey Sanders and Jase McClellan.

Alabama has also lost some grad assistants this offseason. Andy Kwon will head to Arkansas State with Butch Jones as a tight end coach. Gordon Steele is joining Major Applewhite as an assistant for the South Alabama Jaguars. Even Rob Ezell (a former Alabama football player under Saban) is heading out of town.

While these assistant positions are easier to fill, the sheer number of vacancies is staggering. We’ll see what Nick Saban does to replenish his staff. Thankfully, Saban has one of the largest coaching trees in college football. He can go in a lot of different directions, and he will have plenty of candidates for each position. He has proven in the past that he can find success with the Crimson Tide despite having new staff members, and he will likely prove that once again.

While there will be some new faces on the sideline and in the coaching booth next season, rest assured that Nick Saban will find quality coaches to fill every role.