Happy Gump Day, everyone. Alabama’s new coaching contracts were approved, and Matt Stahl has a rundown for you.
Several entries on Alabama’s board of trustees compensation committee meeting agenda, released on Tuesday, were expected. Crimson Tide men’s basketball coach Nate Oats’ extension has been publicly announced , and new women’s basketball coach Pauline Love’s deal also needed approval.
Some of the football assistants are new and also obviously needed their deals approved. However, the rest of the 17
contracts up for approval during a meeting scheduled for Wednesday were new. Leading the way was football defensive coordinator Kane Wommack.
All but three of the football team’s assistant coaches will get new deals approved. The exceptions include offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb, running backs coach Robert Gillespie and defensive line coach Freddie Roach.
Those three exclusions will be quite interesting to most Alabama fans. Grubb only has one year in role so that isn’t terribly surprising regardless of what one thinks of his job performance last season, but Gillespie and Roach are the last holdovers from the Saban era and performance from their position groups hasn’t been great.
I think we can all agree who the most critical assistant will be for this season’s success.
Alabama’s offensive line wasn’t good enough a year ago, hence why Chris Kapilovic was fired and Klemm was hired.
Now, Klemm is tasked with getting an almost entirely new starting offensive line to jell while coaching up some players who aren’t all that experienced. It’s no small task, and there’s only so much Klemm might be able to do. But Alabama needs him to squeeze every bit of potential and talent out of this group.
Heading into the summer, offensive line remains a position of concern. Klemm has plenty of work to do. The success of the offense, and the season, might depend on it.
Everything hinges on how well the OL comes together.
The ESPN staff lists potential strengths and weaknesses for their preseason top 25. I think we all can agree with this.
Strength: Defense. The 11 guys Kalen DeBoer puts out there to defend should have the Tide feeling confident every Saturday. The defensive backfield should be one of the best in college football. Yhonzae Pierre, the team’s leading pass rusher, is back, and despite some key losses at linebacker, new faces such as Caleb Woodson (Virginia Tech) and five-star freshman Xavier Griffin bring optimism. Unsurprisingly, there’s talent — and depth — all over.
Weakness: The run game. A disclaimer: I believe this gets fixed this season. But after last season, when Alabama’s run game was abysmal, the biggest question going into 2026 is whether this problem gets resolved. DeBoer overhauled the offensive line and brought in Adrian Klemm to coach them (how fast do they mesh?). The running backs room features a veteran in Daniel Hill, and EJ Crowell, another exciting freshman. Trae’shawn Brown, another freshman, could very well be part of the solution as well. There’s plenty of reason for optimism.
Alabama landed a high school commitment for 2027, but at this point odds are probably 50/50 of any commitment sticking through signing day.
Stevan Thornton III announced his commitment to the Crimson Tide on Tuesday night.
Thornton is a three-star edge rusher from Cairo, Ga., per the Rivals Industry rankings. He picked Alabama over Georgia, Tulane, South Florida, Tennessee and Ole Miss, among other programs.
“1000% COMMITTED,” Thornton posted to social media. “All glory to God for guiding me through prayer, hard work, and the support of my family. This journey didn’t come easy, but I’m proud to announce I’m officially 1000% committed to the Alabama Crimson Tide.”
Last, Bruce Feldman has a great piece on how the transfer portal has hampered development along the lines of scrimmage. NFL front offices don’t seem pleased.
A national scout who used to work in college recruiting agreed, adding that all the portal movement really hurts line play on both sides of the ball.
“If you’re not staying at one place that develops and trains guys the same way for more than a year, it’s so hard to grow physically,” the scout said. “There’s a direct correlation (with the impact of a lack of development with college line prospects) because these guys are jumping ship left and right. This strength guy trains a guy differently than that one does. It’s difficult because these dudes just aren’t at the same place for very long now.”
Based on that, it’s probably not a coincidence that the draft’s top two O-line prospects, Miami’s Francis Mauigoa and Utah’s Spencer Fano, spent their entire college careers at the same program. All six of Dane Brugler’s highest-ranked offensive linemen didn’t play a down at more than one college.“There’s definitely a big case to be made for that when it comes to staying in the same system and perfecting your craft,” said the scout. “That stuff goes a long way.”
That’s about it for now. Have a great day.
Roll Tide.
