One year ago if you would’ve asked Alabama fans who would be coaching the team in the weight room next season, you would be met with a multitude of perturbed stares and receive resounding answers of Scott Cochran.
But what felt like a blindside hit last February, Cochran shifted gears to an on-field position at the University of Georgia with former Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart. And for the first time in over six months, he was able to give an answer on why he decided to move borders to the SEC East.
“I’ve always wanted to coach, and I found the best opportunity, and coach Smart gave it to me. And I had to jump on it.” Cochran said to local reporters last week.
Cochran had worked under Saban for 13 years and was the only staff member to be a part of every one of Saban’s national championships. During that span, Cochran gained the reputation as one of, if not the premier strength and conditioning coach in the country.
Yet following over a decade of sculpting physical specimens every offseason, Cochran had an itch to take on a different role and wanted to be more involved with the on-field side of things, specifically special teams. After briefly flirting with the idea of joining Lane Kiffin at Ole Miss in December, Cochran had a meeting with Saban to discuss a transition to becoming the special team’s coach.
At that point, Saban was not comfortable giving Cochran the position and suggested he attend the unit’s meetings to deepen his knowledge before making any moves. That didn’t sit well with Cochran who believed he was prepared and ultimately led to him leaving the program.
Although missing the opportunity with the Crimson Tide could be bulletin board material for Cochran, he still holds Saban in high regard for the time he spent in Tuscaloosa.
“You can use anything for motivation,” said Cochran. “To me, the question goes deeper. I think coach Saban has my back. I worked for him for 18 years. If the position would have been open there, probably would have been a possibility but for me, I wanted to work for coach Smart. I wanted to work with somebody that I see eye to eye with a bunch of things and I see the same with coach Saban. Obviously, I wouldn’t be where I am without (Saban). But with coach Smart, I feel like there’s a big emphasis on some things that I’m big on.”
Now that he has the job he wants, the transition to his onfield position has been challenging, but it’s something Cochran had wanted after all these years and is embracing his new role in Athens.
“I would say it’s been challenging, for sure, and that’s kind of what I was looking for,” said Cochran. “When I first got into coaching, it was high school level, and I kind of fell in love with the special teams. And strength and conditioning came with it. So when I had the opportunity to strength or special teams when I was a (graduate assistant) I went with the strength side. So now I wanted to transition into special teams.”
In the spring Saban released a statement displaying the gratitude he had for Cochran’s dedication to the program and even going as far as to say he may be a head coach one day. Although that is something every aspiring coach is looking for, Cochran is approaching his new position one day at a time and trying to be great where he is currently.
“I think at the end of the day you’ve got to be great at the position you’re in and sure, aspiration are out there,” said Cochran. “But it’s like I tell the players… It’s like I tell my son who just had his first seventh and eighth grade game. He was like ‘my goal is to get a sack,’ and I’m like, okay that’s great, or ‘my goal is to get in the endzone,’ that’s great. But how about dominate the man across from?
“So my goal right now is really simple. I’m just going to try to be the best special teams coordinator I can be and to be the best coach I can be to help the program.”
Alabama will be host Georgia on Oct. 17 on CBS, marking the first time Cochran will be entering Bryant-Denny Stadium through the opposite tunnel.
“Just excited. I mean how could you not be?” said Cochran on playing Alabama. “Just having football alone is exciting. But going back there, every game is important, so when that time comes it’s going to be great.”
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Patrick Dowd is a Reporter for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can follow him on Twitter, via Pat_Dowd77
