Alabama’s Coaching Exodus Continues

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The off-season punches keep coming for Nick Saban. Make that FIVE assistant coaches to leave the Alabama Crimson Tide in the last several weeks.

Bruce Feldman of The Athletic has now reported that Defensive Coordinator Tosh Lupoi will be leaving Tuscaloosa to serve as defensive line coach for the Cleveland Browns. After serving as co-defensive coordinator in 2017, Lupoi was promoted to DC after Jeremy Pruitt was named head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers. Lupoi is also widely regarded as one of Alabama’s top recruiters.

With Lupoi’s departure, Saban will now have to rebuild some keys positions on his coaching staff. That brings the running total to:

Offensive Coordinator Mike Locksley to HC at Maryland.
Co-OC and WR Coach Josh Gattis to OC at Michigan.
QB Coach Dan Enos to OC at Miami.
O-line Coach Brent Key to O-line at Georgia Tech.
Defensive Coordinator Tosh Lupoi to D-line coach at Cleveland Browns.

Losing five major assistant coaches at once is a significant hit for Alabama. Of course, Saban should be able to replace each coach and keep the process churning. This continued coaching turnover, however, is beginning to catch up with the Tide. Saban is still the greatest coach in the game, but a lack of consistency for his players is taking its toll.

Many were quick to point this out after the National Championship, and it’s a fair argument. After all, look at Clemson. The coaching stability there has helped to build a national powerhouse. Brent Venables has been DC for Clemson since 2012. Can you imagine Alabama having the same DC for seven years? It’s unthinkable. Instead, Alabama faces the largest rebuild of the Saban era.

Add in a larger than expected exodus of players to the NFL Draft, and we’ve got a 2019 that has Alabama on its heels early. Is it time to panic in Tuscaloosa? No.

But I’d be a little worried.

Poppa Bear is the Lead SEC Analyst for the SoBros Network, and serves as our resident expert on the human anatomy, fixin’ stuff, and tomatoes. Follow on Twitter:@SoBroPoppaBear

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