Alabama

Revisiting Kirby Smart, Lane Kiffin and Nick Saban’s 2015 Alabama coaching staff

Published

3 months ago

October 18, 2025

Revisiting Kirby Smart, Lane Kiffin and Nick Saban’s 2015 Alabama coaching staff

Despite entering his second year of retirement as a head coach, Nick Saban continues to have a major influence on college football today.

Look no further than the Saturday, Oct. 18 matchup between No. 5 Ole Miss and No. 7 Georgia for proof. The matchup pits two former Saban assistant coaches against each other in a game with a lot of SEC and College Football Playoff implications.

Lane Kiffin and Kirby Smart served as the Alabama offensive and defensive coordinators, respectively, in 2015, for a Crimson Tide team that finished the season 14-1 and defeated No. 1 Clemson 45-40 in the CFP national championship game. In fact, looking back, that coaching staff was full of head coaching talent across college football today.

Here’s what you need to know about the 2015 Alabama coaching staff and where they are now:

2015 Alabama coaching staff, revisited

Head coach: Nick Saban

Now: Retired

The 2015 college football season was Year 8 for Saban as the Alabama head coach, and he put together the best coaching staff in the country. Alabama won its fourth national championship under his leadership that season, and first since 2012.

The Crimson Tide’s lone loss came to No. 15 Ole Miss on Sept. 19, dropping their record to 2-1 at the time. However, Alabama would win 12 in a row, including the SEC championship vs. Florida, a CFP semifinal against No. 3 Michigan State and the national championship against top-ranked Clemson.

Offensive Coordinator: Lane Kiffin

Now: Ole Miss football head coach
Career record: 112-52

Kiffin, in his second year as the Alabama offensive coordinator, had one of the easiest go-to plays in the history of college football in 2015: Hand it off to Heisman Trophy-winning running back Derrick Henry. In his first year as a starter, Henry rushed for an SEC-record 2,219 yards.

The former Tennessee and USC head coach used his Alabama tenure to rebuild his status as a coach, taking a head coach role with FAU after his Alabama gig ended unceremoniously ahead of the 2017 CFP championship game vs. Clemson.

He led the Owls to a 26-13 record to get the Ole Miss head coach offer. Kiffin has led the Rebels to a 50-18 record in his five-plus seasons leading Ole Miss. The 2025 season is Kiffin’s best shot of reaching the CFP.

Defensive Coordinator: Kirby Smart

Now: Georgia football head coach
Career record: 110-20

Smart has had the privilege of not only working under Saban, but also coaching under former Florida State coach Bobby Bowden. The 2015 season was Smart’s final year in Tuscaloosa, as he accepted the Georgia head coaching position on Dec. 6, 2015 — over a month before Alabama won the national title.

In his 10 years leading the Bulldogs, Smart has posted a 110-20 record and won back-to-back national championships in 2021 and 2022. He has only a 1-7 record vs. Alabama, including a 1-5 record vs. Nick Saban.

Assistant head coach/offensive line: Mario Cristobal

Now: Miami football head coach
Career record: 89-76

Just as Kiffin did, Cristobal used the Alabama assistant position to help rebuild his status as a coach. After logging a 27-47 career record with FIU, he joined Saban’s staff in 2013. Cristobal was an elite recruiter for the Crimson Tide, finishing as the National Recruiter of the Year by 247Sports in 2015.

The 2015 Alabama offensive line led by Cristobal won the inaugural Joe Moore Award. Cristobal actually spurned the Miami assistant position to take a role on Saban’s staff. Now as a coach at his alma mater of Miami, Cristobal has led to a 15-3 record over the last two seasons. Miami is a legitimate national title contender in Year 4 under Cristobal.

Assistant head coach/defensive backs: Mel Tucker

Now: Unemployed
Career record: 25-21

After being replaced as the Chicago Bears’ defensive coordinator, Tucker took a position on Saban’s staff as an assistant head coach and defensive backs coach in 2015. He followed Smart to Georgia in 2016 and eventually landed head coaching roles with Colorado (2019) and Michigan State (2020).

Michigan State fired Tucker in September 2023 following allegations of sexual harassment.

Wide receivers: Billy Napier

Now: Florida football coach
Career record: 61-35

Just as Cristobal had done, Napier stepped down at a different role to be on Saban’s staff. Napier accepted a position with Jimbo Fisher at FSU to be the tight ends coach but, less than a month later, he joined Saban’s staff as the wide receivers coach.

Napier was responsible for getting five-star offensive tackle Cam Robinson and five-star wide receiver Calvin Ridley to Tuscaloosa. The now-Florida football coach finds himself on the hot seat with a 21-23 record at Florida, after he went 40-12 as the Louisiana coach.

Graduate assistant: Dan Lanning

Now: Oregon football coach
Career record: 40-7

Lanning spent one year on the Alabama coaching staff under Saban in 2015 as a graduate assistant, working with outside linebackers. Following his year with Alabama, Lanning took an inside linebackers coaching position with Memphis under Mike Norvell.

He was hired as an outside linebackers coach by Smart in 2018 and bumped up to defensive coordinator after Tucker took the Colorado job. He was named the Oregon head coach on Dec. 11, 2021, and then helped Georgia beat Alabama in the 2022 CFP national championship game.

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Alabama

Nate Oats Calling for Elite Defense from Alabama to Limit Josh Hubbard

Published

11 hours ago

January 13, 2026

Press Room

Nate Oats Calling for Elite Defense from Alabama to Limit Josh Hubbard

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— To say that the Alabama basketball team is familiar with the repertoire of junior Mississippi State point guard Josh Hubbard would be understating the level of impact Hubbard has had against the Crimson Tide in the recent past. On Tuesday night, No. 18 Alabama (11-5, 1-2 SEC) gets to deal with him again in its trip to Humphrey Coliseum in Starkville (8 p.m. CT).

Hubbard led all Bulldogs scorers both times Mississippi State played Alabama last season, putting up 38 points during the matchup in Humphrey Coliseum last January and 21 in a lopsided loss in Tuscaloosa the following month. This season, he averages 29.3 points per game against SEC opponents. He’s one of the best guards in the league, and plays like it opposite the Crimson Tide.

Alabama head coach Nate Oats hasn’t forgotten what Hubbard has done against his squad. Alabama may have escaped Hubbard’s season-high scoring game with a win last season in Starkville. That doesn’t mean the team is comfortable giving him a chance to repeat a performance where he made 14 shot attempts from the field and six three-pointers.

Oats said the coaching staff advised last season’s team of Hubbard’s talent before facing him in his home arena, but felt like there were too many plays the 2024-25 Crimson Tide let up against him on the road, especially early on.

“We better have a better plan than we did last year when he had 38. They’re a good team, and he can score it. We gotta have some guards be ready to play him. They can’t fall asleep off the ball,” Oats said on Monday afternoon. “As soon as you fall asleep, he’s sprinting off an off-ball screen or sprinting back to get it back from the big after he threw it to him.”

The Bulldogs’ (10-6, 2-1 SEC) star player is currently averaging 22.8 points, 2.3 boards and 3.8 assists per contest while shooting 42.8 percent from the field. Unsurprisingly, Hubbard is Mississippi State’s leading scorer; he also leads the Bulldogs in assists. Oats (as many would) interprets the challenge of stopping Hubbard as an approach requiring the Crimson Tide to spare no expense defensively.

“You gotta be alert that he’s probably coming back towards the ball at any point. When he’s got the ball in his hands, he’s been elite in ball screens. If you don’t have your big up to level the ball screen, he comes off. He’s pretty good shooting pull-ups,” he said. “It’s a lot of pressure to put your guards on, but if you bring your big up, [and] he gets too aggressive, he’s also been splitting and turning around.”

Oats has been vocal about wanting Alabama’s guards to defend better. On Monday, he chalked up sophomore Jalil Bethea’s recent decline in minutes to his defensive form. If the Crimson Tide coach wanted a trial-by-fire test in that department for his backcourt players, Hubbard is more than capable of obliging. That goes for the frontcourt as well.

“Our bigs gotta be ready to do their job correctly, and we probably gotta have a little bit [of] change-up in our ball-screen coverages with him,” Oats said. “Our guards can’t fall asleep. They gotta be elite, and he’s also pretty good at drawing fouls… He kinda kicks his legs out on his jumper. Seems like it’s kinda part of his jumper, but he seems to draw a lot of fouls, so we gotta be able to guard him without fouling too.”

Defending without the foul was not an area in which the Crimson Tide excelled during Saturday’s loss to Texas at Coleman Coliseum. Four players finished the game with four fouls, one of whom was junior shooting guard Aden Holloway. Freshmen Amari Allen and London Jemison, along with forward Keitenn Bristow, also picked up four fouls. Guard Houston Mallette had three.

Alabama has won eight games in a row against Mississippi State. Its last loss in the series came at Humphrey Coliseum on Jan. 15, 2022. Four of the Crimson Tide’s past five losses against the Bulldogs have been on the road. Keeping Hubbard, who has reached 30 points or more in three of his past six games, in check is a critical component to Alabama avoiding that fate in 2026.

Pair of Former Alabama Football Defensive Starters Commits to Ohio State

Published

23 hours ago

January 12, 2026

Press Room

Pair of Former Alabama Football Defensive Starters Commits to Ohio State

James Smith and Qua Russaw will be college teammates once more after transferring from Alabama last week. Per On3’s Hayes Fawcett on Monday evening, Smith and Russaw have committed to continue their careers at Ohio State.

Both former Crimson Tide starters and high school teammates at Carver High School in Montgomery, Ala., the two players came to Tuscaloosa as part of the 2023 recruiting class. Smith saw the field at Alabama first, playing in nine games during Nick Saban’s final season, while Russaw took a redshirt for that season.

During the 2025-26 campaign, Smith played in every game and started 12 contests, logging 28 tackles with 2.5 sacks along the defensive line. Russaw began the season as a starter at Wolf linebacker, then was injured during the first half of a game against Georgia on Sept. 27.

Russaw made it back to the field in time for the regular season home finale, playing against Eastern Illinois on Nov. 22, but finished his third season with the Alabama program playing in only nine games. Yhonzae Pierre broke out at the Wolf spot in Russaw’s absence, and Russaw’s entry to the transfer portal became known one day before Smith’s intentions to join him there. Russaw recorded 14 tackles and one sack this past season.

Both players put themselves in a position to be among the key players on the Crimson Tide’s defense in year two of the Kalen DeBoer era. Russaw and Smith each played in every game over the course of the 2024-25 season. Smith earned praise for his explosiveness during fall camp last year.

“James is such an explosive player,” defensive coordinator Kane Wommack said on Aug. 25. “[He] is in a really good position going into [Florida State] game week. Excited about him.” Also during fall camp, Wommack described Russaw as the freakiest athlete on the defense.

“He’s a special talent,” Wommack said Aug. 6. “What I like about Qua is [him] knowing when to and when not to, from a physical standpoint, be too aggressive. I think he’s learned a lot last year with the experience that he has.”

When Russaw got hurt, DeBoer said it wasn’t expected that the injury (a broken foot) would end his season. As it turned out, the Rose Bowl loss on Jan. 1 against Indiana was the last game in a Crimson Tide uniform for Russaw and Smith. The two combined for one tackle, an assisted stop credited to Russaw.

Goodman: The day Alabama football became an underdog

Published

1 day ago

January 12, 2026

Press Room

Goodman: The day Alabama football became an underdog

This is an opinion column.

It’s tough to see the Crimson Tide take it to the teeth again and again and again.

First it was the pummeling at the Rose Bowl and now Texas is taking its turn rearranging Alabama’s battered face.

The image of Alabama football might never be the same again.

Alabama forgot how to run the ball last season. It was embarrassing to watch. The Tide’s top running back rushed for 13 yards on five carries in the 38-3 loss to Indiana. Quarterback Ty Simpson had the longest run for an Alabama back, but he broke a rib and fumbled the football on the play.

Not good. Sad stuff.

The problems with Alabama’s running game were all going to change in the offseason, though. Coach Kalen DeBoer had big plans. He was going to bring in a transfer running back and reignite the flame.

Yeah, about that …

Alabama was set to sign a new running back last week. Hollywood Smothers (great name) was planning to leave N.C. State for Alabama. That Alabama didn’t already have five running backs better than a guy at N.C. State would make Nick Saban toss his Oatmeal Creme Pies, but let’s focus on one new reality at a time.

On Friday, Smothers flipped his commitment to Texas and coach Steve Sarkisian.

Oof.

But the hits didn’t stop there.

Texas also landed former Auburn receiver Cam Coleman on Sunday despite a max-effort push by Alabama that included hiring Coleman’s receivers coach away from the Tigers.

Is it just the money, or is the problem Alabama’s coaches and their broken offense, too? Either way, these are bitter days in Tuscaloosa. Don’t forget that Alabama also lost receiver Isaiah Horton to the transfer portal. On Sunday evening, news broke that Horton was headed to Texas A&M.

A new week is here and so is a different perception of Alabama. The Crimson Tide is officially a college football underdog. Alabama can’t run the ball against Indiana, and it can’t outspend the schools in Texas.

Is Alabama poor?

Oh, wait. I know. If that’s the case, then no doubt future football governor Tommy Tuberville will know how to fix it.

Until then, Alabama football is looking more and more like Ole Miss every day.

Is it enough for Alabama to simply limp into the playoffs these days? Maybe that’s the new measure of success. I’ll take 11 wins and a beat down by Indiana over missing the party altogether.

How does Alabama football get off the ropes and punch back? I don’t have an answer for that, but the beatings continue.

Alabama’s loss to Indiana in the College Football Playoff was the kind of thing that can reshape college football history, but losing all of Alabama’s players to Texas year after year is worse. First it was receiver Isaiah Bond after the Iron Bowl. Bond was the hero of the 2023 Iron Bowl. He’s the player who caught the pass from Jalen Milroe in the back of the end zone.

Bond was going to be an Alabama legend forever. Then he made a “business decision” to leave Alabama for Austin.

We thought it couldn’t get any worse, but that was just the beginning of Alabama’s losses to Texas.

Coleman and Smothers would rather play with Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning, and I can’t really blame them. Who’s going to be Alabama’s quarterback next season? No one knows. It’s either forever backup Austin Mack, or unproven underclassman Keelon Russell.

I was hoping the Tide could maybe lure former Arizona State triggerman Sam Leavitt out of the transfer portal, but that was a pipe dream. Leavitt, the top-rated quarterback in the portal, is expected to choose between Miami and Tennessee.

Some readers thought I was crazy on Saturday when I wrote that Auburn is better positioned for the future than Alabama. Then Sunday happened.

Will Alabama ever win another national championship? Seems ridiculous to even ask the question, but things come and go.

Remember when Yale and Princeton ruled college football? Then it was Notre Dame and Michigan for a time.

What about Alabama? Yeah, the Crimson Tide had a good run, too, but that was before money changed everything.

The running back that Alabama wanted chose Texas. The receiver that Alabama wanted went to Texas, too. Horton, a returning starter at receiver, is off to Texas A&M.

Who’s going to be on Alabama’s offensive line next season? No one knows that either. Everyone left.

Right tackle Wilkin Formby would have been a returning starter, but then he went to … you guessed it … Texas A&M.

Alabama’s offensive line was pretty bad last season, but can it get even worse?

When you’re an underdog like Alabama, it’s best to keep the salaries low and expectations even lower.

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