A new Alabama Football assistant is needed with Karl Scott going to the NFL. Nick Saban has plenty of options and plenty of time.
Ace Alabama football recruiter, Karl Scott is headed to the NFL. He will coach defensive backs for the Minnesota Vikings. Nick is losing one of his most productive recruiters, but Saban has many options to consider.
A new cornerbacks coach does not have to hired, because that is the current vacancy. Nick Saban will continue to be the Tide’s top position coach for defensive backs. Saban can move his staff around and decide to instead hire a new linebacker or even defensive line coach. Pete Golding has more experience coaching defensive backs than he does linebackers. Golding continuing his Defensive Coordinator role does not mean he must coach the Tide’s inside linebackers.
By moving Golding to the secondary, a new linebackers coach could become the next hire. Saban could even decide to move Sal Sunseri to the inside linebackers slot and go with a new outside linebackers coach. Freddie Roach could be moved to either of the linebacker positions, making room for the next hire to be a defensive line coach.
Considering all the combinations, the list of potential hires is long. Nick Saban may surprise Alabama football fans by hiring a guy with minimal coaching experience. Compared to a Derrick Ansley who likely would not stay in Tuscaloosa more than a season or two, a less experienced coach would be motivated to stick around and learn from Nick Saban.
One name being mentioned is Sam Petitto. The Louisiana native is currently the Alabama Football Director of Personnel Operations. Petitio has high school coaching experience as well as having been an onfield assistant at Grambling and Southeastern Louisiana University. Before leaving the Georgia Bulldogs staff in 2015, Petitto was a Tide defensive intern in 2008. He also had an off-field position at North Carolina, working for Butch Davis.
A fair assessment of Petitto’s recruiting ability is without him DeVonta Smith would have been unlikely to play for the Crimson Tide. Petitto, who like Smitty, is from Amite, LA would more than fill the recruiting void left by Scott’s departure.
Other names being thrown around are near and dear to Alabama Crimson Tide fans. A few of them are current Chicago Bears assistant, DeShea Townsend; current Tide analyst Javier Arenas; Roman Harper and Patrick Surtain Sr. Townsend, Harper and Surtain Sr. had great NFL careers. All four could be expected to excel as recruiters.
Nick Saban’s list will be longer than the names mentioned here. Whatever choice he makes will be a good one. Given the current point in the offseason, Saban does not have to rush.