Nick Saban is returning to a situation he knows a lot about: filling a vacancy on his coaching staff.
He replaced five on-field assistants — Steve Sarkisian, Kyle Flood, Charles Huff, Jeff Banks, and Karl Scott — from last year’s staff, and now has to locate another coach as spring practice has started. Jay Graham was one of five coaches hired to the University of Alabama this offseason. He joined names such as Bill O’Brien, Doug Marrone, Robert Gillespie, and Jay Valai.
RELATED: Update: Jay Graham states he has officially resigned from Alabama’s coaching staff
Graham, a native of Concord, N.C., played running back at the University of Tennessee (1993-96) and spent six seasons in the National Football League. During his 15 years of coaching experience, he has worked primarily with running backs.
Graham, Lance Taylor, Eddie Gran, and Gillespie were all targeted to replace Huff as the Crimson Tide’s running backs’ coach.
Gillespie was hired for the job, and Graham was hired to coach tight ends and special teams.
He was hired in February, but he’s officially resigned from his position after two spring practices.
On Wednesday, a statement came from UA to confirm the news.
Before it hired Graham, Jay Boulware was targeted by Alabama. The 48-year-old is a native Texan who primarily coached special teams at Arizona (2001-03), Utah (2005-06), Iowa State (2007-08), Auburn (2009-12), Oklahoma (2013-19), and Texas (2020).
During his time at Utah, Auburn, and Texas, Boulware mentored tight ends too.
According to a report from 247Sports on Jan. 4, Steve Sarkisian was not going to retain Boulware for his staff.
This could be an opportunity for the Tide, but it depends on how Saban plays it. He has a long history of coaching running backs, but Eddie Gran has experience on special teams too.
He operated the position at Ole Miss (1995-98), Auburn (1999-08), and Tennessee (2009).
Saban has much respect for Gran, and the 55-year-old has a wealth of knowledge that would benefit the Tide. It will be interesting to see the route that Alabama takes.
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Stephen M. Smith is the managing editor and senior writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @CoachingMSmith.
