Alabama’s offseason coaching carousel has finally come to a stop — at least temporarily. Sunday, the Crimson Tide completed its 10-man coaching staff by filling its defensive coordinator opening with Kevin Steele. The news comes after Tommy Rees agreed to become the next offensive coordinator while Austin Armstrong will take one of the team’s positional roles.
Those additions follow a trio of departures as former defensive coordinator Pete Golding left for the same role with Ole Miss, former offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien returned to the New England Patriots to take on the same role, and safeties coach Charles Kelly left to become the next defensive coordinator at Colorado.
How did Alabama make out with the moves?
At first glance, the departing trio appears stronger than the three coaches joining the staff. O’Brien produced the program’s first Heisman-winning quarterback and oversaw back-to-back top-10 scoring offenses during his two years in Tuscaloosa. Golding was a solid recruiter and saw all four of his defenses rank in the top 20 nationally in scoring defense. Kelly was arguably the nation’s top recruiter and provided veteran experience to the staff.
Rees, 30, and Armstrong, 29, are a promising young pair while Steele, 64, is proven in Nick Saban’s system. However, the resumes of each don’t quite stack up against their predecessor at Alabama.
Here’s how I’d grade each of the Crimson Tide’s hires this offseason
Rees — B
I was initially underwhelmed by this hire, but it’s beginning to make more sense the more I look at it.
Rees’ offenses don’t offer the same excitement as Alabama’s other candidates for the position. Oklahoma’s Jeff Lebby runs the same high-tempo scheme that gave the Crimson Tide fits during last season’s 52-49 loss to Tennesee. Meanwhile, Washington’s Ryan Grubb would have brought a passing attack that ranked No. 1 in the nation last year. It’s unclear if Alabama was turned down by that duo. However, it might have found a better instantaneous fit with Rees anyway.
Under O’Brien, Alabama’s offense became too one-dimensional, relying on Bryce Young’s Houdini-like escapability in the pocket to create plays. While Rees won’t be traveling back to the stone age, expect him to implement a traditional setup that should produce a more balanced attack.
Spread-out offenses are fun, but so is picking up third and fourth downs with less than 2 yards to go. Alabama did that at a 60% clip last season which ranked 11th out of 14 SEC teams. Rees’ two-tight end set isn’t sexy, but telling Tide fans they’ll see running back Jase McClellan grind out 5 yards on third-and-short might as well be dirty talk.
Rees has also achieved success with a variety of quarterbacks and should be able to come up with a successful scheme for either Jalen Milroe or Ty Simpson. Regardless of who wins that battle, expect Alabama to go under center more moving forward.
Steele — B-
Let’s be clear, this wasn’t Saban’s first choice. It might not have been his second or even third choice either. It’s no secret Alabama wanted to bring back Jeremy Pruitt to fill its opening at defensive coordinator. Ultimately, that proved to be impossible due to the 18 level I violations the NCAA has alleged against him.
Alabama was also unable to pry Glenn Schumann from Georgia and even considered hiring Todd Grantham as its next defensive coordinator before settling on Steele. Still, the Crimson Tide could do worse than bringing back someone familiar with both Saban’s defense and the SEC.
Steele is making his third stint in Tuscaloosa. He was Saban's first defensive coordinator at Alabama in 2007 and later served as the program's director of player personnel in 2013 before coaching linebackers in 2014. In addition to calling defenses at Alabama, Steele has previous defensive coordinator experience at Clemson (2009-11), LSU (2015), Auburn (2016-20) and Miami (2022).
During his five seasons as Auburn’s defensive coordinator, Steele’s defenses ranked inside the top-20 in scoring defense four times. He was a Broyles Award finalist in 2017 after helping the Tigers hold opponents to 18.5 points and 319.4 yards per game. That included limiting Alabama to just 314 total yards in a 26-14 victory over the Crimson Tide that year.
Steele isn’t a young defensive mind who is going to reveloutionize Alabama’s defense. Instead the hope is that he can get the Crimson Tide to return to its roots and bring back some of the physicality the unit has been lacking the past few years.
Steele also isn’t likely a long-term solution. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see him serve as somewhat of a placeholder until Alabama is able to bring in Pruitt to run the show. If that’s indeed what Saban wanted all along, the Steele hire might end up being a more satisfactory move than bringing in a younger alternative.
Armstrong — A
This is the least important of the three hires but perhaps the most exciting. Armstrong is one of the most promising defensive minds in the game and replaces Kelly as another position coach with coordinator experience.
Armstrong was the youngest defensive coordinator in the country when he took over Southern Miss’ defense in 2021. That season, the Golden Eagles climbed 18 spots from No. 60 to No. 42 in total defense, allowing 357.8 yards per game. His unit last season led the Sun Belt Conference and ranked tied for fourth nationally with 44 sacks.
Outside of his coaching ability, Armstrong has the drive needed to survive on Saban’s staff. Before getting his start in coaching as a defensive assistant at West Georgia in 2016, Armstrong practically begged his way onto Will Hall’s staff, calling the head coach’s secretary roughly 10 times a day to get a meeting.
According to Football Scoop, Armstrong has been revered to as “a young Kirby Smart.” Who knows, perhaps he might end up developing into Alabama’s next defensive coordinator. Regardless, he brings plenty of potential and appears to check all the boxes Saban looks for in an assistant.
alabama.rivals.com
alabama.rivals.com
