Sources: S. Alabama’s Wommack is brand-new Tide DC
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Chris Low Close Chris Low ESPN Senior Citizen Author College football press reporter Joined
ESPN.com in 2007 Graduate
- of the University of Tennessee
- Adam Rittenberg Close Adam Rittenberg ESPN Senior Citizen Author College football reporter. Signed up with ESPN.com in 2008. Graduate of Northwestern University.Jan 15,2024, 11:27 PM ET Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer is set to employ South Alabama head coach Kane Wommack as the
- Crimson Tide’s brand-new defensive organizer, sources told ESPN on Monday.DeBoer and Wommack interacted on
Indiana’s staff in 2019, DeBoer as the Hoosiers ‘offensive coordinator and Wommack as defensive planner. Wommack, 36, simply finished his 3rd season as South Alabama’s head coach and led the Jaguars to championship game each of the previous 2 seasons. South Alabama won 10 games in 2022, the most in school history as an FBS program.In his final season as Indiana’s protective coordinator in 2020, Wommack was a finalist for the Broyles Award, which goes to the top assistant coach in the country.The Hoosiers led the Big 10 that season with 20 required turnovers. When promoted from linebackers coach to defensive coordinator in 2019, Wommack at the time was the youngest Power 5 protective coordinator.Wommack’s father, Dave, was a 35-year training veteran and the defensive planner at Ole Miss from 2012 to’16. Kane Wommack worked under his dad at Ole Miss as a graduate assistant and protective backs coach and likewise worked with just recently worked with Penn State
protective planner Tom Allen on the Ole Miss staff and later became Allen’s protective coordinator at Indiana when Allen was the Hoosiers’head coach.Editor’s Picks 2 Related South Alabama ranked 15th nationally in overall defense in 2023( permitting 313.2 lawns per game )and tied for 27th in scoring defense(permitting 21 points per game ). The Jaguars were 26th in scoring defense in 2022( allowing 21.3 points per game). DeBoer, worked with last Friday to replace Nick Saban as Alabama
‘s coach
, has invested the
previous couple of days assembling his personnel. He interviewed Travaris Robinson for the defensive planner task Sunday, but Robinson decided to stay at Georgia after taking a co-defensive coordinator job with the Bulldogs three days after Saban retired. Robinson was the defensive backs coach the past two seasons at Alabama under Saban and handled an increased function in 2023. DeBoer is anticipated to bring offending coordinator Ryan Grubb with him from Washington along with numerous other coaches and assistants who were on the Huskies ‘staff in 2023. Running backs coach Robert Gillespie and defensive line coach Freddie Roach are expected to be maintained from Saban’s staff at Alabama.