Five Alabama Position Coaches With Something to Prove in 2026 Season

It seems like every year Alabama football changes at least one branch of its assistant coaching tree and Kalen DeBoer's 2026 staff continues that trend.

Multiple position coaches from last year's team moved on from the Crimson Tide this offseason via firings or being hired by other programs. But DeBoer has since replaced them and trusts that these new additions will revolutionize his regime ahead of his third season as Alabama's head coach.

Simply put, like any football team, DeBoer's can't run smoothly without the daily efforts of the position coaches on the field and in the film room. A lot of UA's position coaches, both returners and new hires, have something to prove in 2026 with their respective units. Here's a look at five of them.

Bryan Ellis, Quarterbacks

As you can see by the captions of the story cover photo and the one directly above this paragraph, Bryan Ellis has a different position attached to his name. After coaching the Crimson Tide's tight ends the past two seasons, he's now Alabama's quarterbacks coach. Ellis was moved to this new assignment following former quarterbacks coach Nick Sheridan taking the offensive coordinator job at Michigan State (former Louisville assistant Richard Owens is now Alabama's tight ends coach).

Nevertheless, Ellis is no stranger to mentoring the commanders of the offense, as he was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Georgia Southern in 2022 and 2023. He also held very similar titles at Western Kentucky and USC. This included the development of former Trojan and reigning Super Bowl champion Sam Darnold in 2018.

Ellis has a major task in his first season as Alabama's quarterbacks coach, as he'll play a role in determining the winner of the ongoing competition between redshirt freshman Keelon Russell and redshirt junior Austin Mack.

Neither option has ever started a game and one of them will be filling the role of Ty Simpson, who was drafted by the Los Angeles Rams. Russell and Mack have some similarities in their play styles, but overall, they differ in size, experience and athleticism. Ellis has the challenge to turn the winner of the QB battle into someone who could lead Alabama to a National Championship.

Derrick Nix, Wide Receivers

Alabama Wide Receivers Coach Derrick Nix | Obtained from Alabama Athletics

After former Alabama wide receivers coach JaMarcus Shephard was hired to be Oregon State's next head coach on Nov. 28, the Crimson Tide brought in Derrick Nix for the vacant role a couple of weeks later. Nix was Auburn's offensive coordinator and running backs coach in 2024 and 2025 before coaching the wide receivers at Ole Miss from 2020-23.

The 2025 Alabama starting wide receivers were set in stone well before the season started, as Ryan Coleman-Williams, Germie Bernard and Isaiah Horton held those spots. Coleman-Williams returned for 2026, but Bernard's collegiate eligibility expired (he was then drafted in the second round by the Pittsburgh Steelers) and Horton transferred to Texas A&M.

In other words, two spots need to be filled, and most signs point to Lotzeir Brooks taking one of them, as he served as the first wide receiver off the bench last season. That third spot then gets tricky, as NC State transfer Noah Rogers, who was likely to start, sustained an injury on A-Day, which will sideline him during the early portion of the season.

That said, depth will not be a problem for Nix, regardless of who he chooses as starters. 2025 returners Rico Scott and Derek Meadows, plus true freshman Cederian Morgan, are the most likely candidates to earn more snaps. But distinguishing the snap share between them while also developing Brooks for his sophomore year and Coleman-Williams, who did not come close to meeting his All-American expectations last season, puts a lot on Nix's plate in Year 1.

Adrian Klemm, Offensive Line

Alabama Offensive Line Coach Adrian Klemm | Obtained from Yea Alabama's X/Twitter

The Crimson Tide's front five had expectations to be a Joe Moore Award-caliber unit last year, but run blocking struggles spread like wildfire, as Alabama's 104.13 rushing yards per game last year was the second-worst in the SEC, holding an extremely slim lead over last-place LSU (104.00). This resulted in UA firing offensive line coach Chris Kapilovic and replacing him with USC defensive analyst Adrian Klemm.

Sophomore Michael Carroll, the lone remaining starter from last season, will all but certainly start at right guard rather than right tackle. Offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb said on March 12 that redshirt freshman Jackson Lloyd will start at left tackle. But the other three spots are very much up for grabs and in Klemm's control.

Mississippi State transfer Jayvin James had a good chunk of what were likely first-team right tackle reps during A-Day, and the same could be said for Cal Poly transfer Racin Delgatty at center. Redshirt sophomore William Sanders might have the best shot to be the starting left guard due to his past experience, but he missed the entire spring due to a lower-back injury.

Klemm must find the right group to not only turn Alabama's run game around, but also consistently protect Mack and/or Russell, who, as previously stated, have never started. The front five is the foundation to an offense's success, and Klemm has a lot to prove with this unit following its subpar 2025 campaign.

Freddie Roach, Defensive Line

The Crimson Tide players and coaches continue working toward the season opener in practice Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024. Alabama defensive line coach Freddie Roach works with his players. | Gary Cosby Jr.-Tuscaloosa News / USA TODAY NETWORK

Alabama's longest-tenured coach, who has held his current position in Tuscaloosa since 2020, has some work to do. The Crimson Tide has been on a bit of a downward spike in the sacks-per-game department over the last couple of years, as it was inside the top-4 of the SEC from 2020-23, but it was tied for 14th in 2024 and eighth last season.

But Roach will have a fresh start in 2026. Nose tackle Tim Keenan III and Bandit LT Overton exhausted their collegiate eligibility, while Kelby Collins, James Smith, Keon Keeley and Jordan Renaud, plus Wolf linebackers Qua Russaw and Noah Carter, entered the transfer portal.

Nevertheless, in addition to its six returning defensive linemen, Alabama has added four from the transfer portal and five to its 2026 recruiting class. This doesn't even include returning Wolf linebacker Yhonzae Pierre, who led the Crimson Tide in sacks and tackles for loss this past season. DeBoer said on Jan. 28 that he's "fired up" about the defensive line and that the unit has "captain-type caliber" players.

Similar to Nix, Roach has a decent chunk of depth to work with, but finding the right starters to reach the quarterback at an elite level is pivotal to the defense's success. Returning sophomore London Simmons should lock up the starting defensive tackle spot, while USC transfer Devan Thompkins has made noise at bandit (defensive end) and the same could be said for Oregon transfer Terrance Green at nose tackle.

Jay Nunez, Special Teams

Yes, Jay Nunez has "coordinator" attached to his name, but since the special teams unit isn't on the field as often as the offense and defense, I decided to put him in this story. That said, he definitely has something to prove in 2026 and a lot of decisions will need to be made over the next few months.

Alabama's offense stood out during the first few weeks of the 2025 season before treading down towards the end, while the defense was consistently positive from start to finish. However, the special teams unit never really got going, and Nunez had some personnel turnover during the offseason. Alabama lost Cole Adams, its main returner, to Vanderbilt, David Bird, its long snapper, to California, and punter Blake Doud exhausted his collegiate eligibility.

After a rough stretch during the regular season, kicker Conor Talty turned things around during the College Football Playoff. But the Tide added former Marshall kicker Lorcan Quinn this offseason, and he hit two 47-yard field goals at A-Day. This is an under-the-radar but also crucial position battle to watch this summer, as Nunez has to make a big decision for it.

The aforementioned Lotzeir Brooks was UA's kick returner last season, but he'll see an increased role with the offense, meaning someone else could fill in. Rico Scott, who clocked a team-best 23.4 miles per hour before the 2025 season, is a solid option for either kick or punt returns. Syracuse transfer Ethan Stangle is expected to be the long snapper and another position battle could be at punter between redshirt freshman Alex Asparuhov and North Alabama transfer Adam Watford.

Sign up for our free newsletter and follow us on Twitter/X, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Threads, and Blue Sky for the latest news.

Add us as a preferred source on Google