Alabama is set to add a defensive coordinator from Southern Mississippi to its coaching staff.
Close sources confirmed to Touchdown Alabama Magazine that Austin Armstrong will coach inside linebackers for the Crimson Tide, replacing Pete Golding. Armstrong is one of the fastest-rising young coaches in the sport. He elevated Southern Miss to a top-five defense nationally last season for sacks with 44. Armstrong’s group finished third in the nation for fourth-down defense, allowing a 23.1 percent (6-for-26) conversion rate. The Golden Eagles’ defense had more sacks than Alabama’s (44 to 38) in 2022.
RELATED: Southern Miss DC Austin Armstrong expected to join Alabama’s coaching staff
Cole Cubelic, an ESPN analyst, weighed in on the Crimson Tide’s move. He calls Armstrong a “damn defensive whiz-kid.”
REALLY good get for Saban.
He’s a damn defensive whiz-kid. https://t.co/4eYTqX3Lk1— Cole Cubelic (@colecubelic) January 14, 2023
Saban usually has his defensive coordinators double as inside linebacker coaches, but he is going against the grain with Armstrong in the role. Glenn Schumann (Georgia), Jim Leonhard (Wisconsin), Jeremy Pruitt, and Todd Grantham are the top candidates to replace Golding as defensive coordinator. Hopefully, Armstrong can return the linebackers to playing elite football.
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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.
