Report: Alabama to Hire South Alabama HC Kane Wommack as New Defensive Coordinator

zach bacharContributor IJanuary 16, 2024

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South Alabama head coach Kane Wommack is expected to join Alabama as the team’s new defensive coordinator, according to Action Network’s Brett McMurphy.

New head coach Kalen DeBoer continues to round out his staff with familiar faces, as DeBoer and Wommack previously worked together on Indiana’s staff during the 2019 season. Wommack served as the Hoosiers’ defensive coordinator and linebackers coach, while DeBoer was an associate head coach as well as the team’s offensive coordinator.

In his final season with Indiana during the team’s 2020 campaign, Wommack was named a finalist for the Broyles Award which is given to the top assistant coach in the country.

This news comes a few days after ESPN’s Chris Low reported that former Washington offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb will take over the same role with the Crimson Tide after spending time with the team’s new head coach throughout the Huskies’ successful 2023 campaign.

Wommack spent the past three seasons as the head coach of South Alabama, helping the team win 17 games over the past two seasons as well as a dominant 59-10 victory over Eastern Michigan in the 68 Ventures Bowl on Dec. 23.

In the 2023 season, the Jaguars owned the No. 3 scoring defense and the No. 1 pass defense in the Sun Belt Conference. Wommack will be expected to maintain the defensive production for a Crimson Tide team that consitently ranked among the nation’s best under legendary former head coach Nick Saban.

Alabama allowed just 19.0 points per game in 2023, which represented the No. 16 mark in the country.