With fourth new Alabama Football assistant Saban finished except at OC

On Friday it was learned Nick Saban has made another assistant coaching change. Coming to coach Crimson Tide tight ends is former Georgia Bulldog, Joe Cox. Making room for Cox means Drew Svoboda will not be on Saban’s staff for a second season.

Other assistant coaching exits have been offensive line coach, Doug Marone and cornerbacks coach, Jay Valai. Not exiting the staff, but moving to an off-field position is Sal Sunseri.

Nick Saban may have one more move left this offseason, if Offensive Coordinator, Bill O’Brien returns to the NFL as is widely expected. Speaking about O’Brien this week, Saban said he would not speculate on what “might” happen. Instead, he stated he believed the Tide OC will remain in Tuscaloosa. Saban also lauded O’Brien for his good performance in the 2021 season.

Joe Cox is also the fourth new Crimson Tide assistant who coached at South Carolina under Will Muschamp. The others are new cornerbacks assistant, Tarvaris Robinson; new outside linebackers and special teams coach, Coleman Hutzler and new offensive line coach, Eric Wolford.

Bio Info on new Alabama Football Assistant Coaches

• Travaris Robinson – Cornerbacks; Robinson played for Tommy Tuberville at Auburn and was All-SEC in 2002. Going back to 2008 he has been an assistant at Western Kentucky, Southern Miss, Texas Tech, Florida, Auburn, South Carolina and Miami. He has a reputation as an outstanding recruiter.
• Coleman Hutzler – Outside Linebackers and Special Teams; Hutzler played football at Middlebury College. He has been as an assistant coach at Boston College, Florida (two stints), South Carolina, Texas (where he was Co-DC), and most recently, in the 2021 season, at Ole Miss. Like Robinson, Hutzler is a highly rated recruiter.
• Eric Wolford – Offensive Line; Wolford was an offensive lineman at Kansas State. He spent five seasons as the Head Coach at Youngstown State. He has been an assistant coach at South Florida, Houston, North Texas, Arizona, Illinois, South Carolina and last season at Kentucky. He was a San Francisco 49ers assistant for two seasons as well. His 2021 Kentucky line was a finalist for the Joe Moore Award. He too is considered to be a top recruiter.
• Joe Cox – Tight Ends; Cox was a quarterback at Georgia in 2005-2009. His college coaching career has been stints at Colorado State, South Carolina and Charlotte. He has coached wide receivers and tight ends.

There was a time when Alabama football fans fretted over frequent turnover in Nick Saban assistants. It seems to have rarely bothered the GOAT, with results to prove it.