The three coaches most often mentioned as the next Alabama Football DC would each be outstanding choices. They are Jeremy Pruitt, Glenn Schumann, and former Wisconsin coach, Jim Leonhard. Other names are mentioned and some of them might do well, but none of them matches the big three.
Of the three, many Alabama fans rank Pruitt as the top choice. Based on information from a few Alabama football insiders, Pruitt and Schumann are in play in a fluid situation. The situation with Schumann is easier to decipher. Where does he most want to coach? Once he answers that question, both Alabama and Georgia will provide whatever it takes to finalize a decision.
On Friday, when Austin Armstrong was added to some lists of potential hires, the fan response was surely Nick Saban was not looking at a Southern Miss DC. If Armstrong is being considered for an Alabama football staff position, it is likely as a position coach. In 2019, Armstrong, and Glenn Schumann, worked for Kirby Smart on the Georgia staff.
Alabama Football and Pruitt Knowns and Unknowns
No one knows more about Jeremy Pruitt’s coaching ability than Nick Saban. What Saban probably cannot know is ‘exactly’ what the NCAA will, at some future time, do with Pruitt and rules violations at Tennessee.
The current NCAA investigation is not believed to prohibit him from being hired by any school. He has received no NCAA penalty, nor has the NCAA placed him in a ‘show cause’ situation. Recently, when asked about Auburn hiring Hugh Freeze, SEC Commissioner, Greg Sankey said,
"Our campuses, despite whatever mythology may exist, make their own personnel decisions, but we provide for any hiring decision, here’s the background from a compliance standpoint …"
So the SEC would not block Alabama from hiring Pruitt. The SEC can advise, but the Alabama Compliance Dept. will have long been in consultation with the NCAA regarding Pruitt. The issue is, how could Alabama Football be adversely impacted if Pruitt is on the Crimson Tide payroll when the NCAA imposes punishment for University of Tennessee violations?
Not knowing exactly what would happen most likely weighs heavy in Nick Saban’s decision. Pruitt reportedly admitted to the NCAA he broke rules. Did he tell them everything? Were others (say, Phil Fulmer) as guilty or more guilty than Pruitt? If he did not tell the NCAA everything, has he done so with Nick Saban? And can Nick Saban afford to know, anything the NCAA might not know?
Only Jeremy Pruitt and a small number of individuals at Alabama can possibly answer the questions.
All the rest of us are doing, trying to figure out what comes next – is little more than guessing. What we can and should do is trust Nick Saban to make the best decision.