It’s been another strange offseason for the Alabama Crimson Tide. Even though the loss of strength and conditioning coach Scott Cochran was a bit of a blow out of left field, head coach Nick Saban has been able to keep most of his staff in tact.
He did so again earlier this week when it was reported that defensive analyst Mike Stoops opted to stay with the Crimson Tide rather than leave to join his brother Mark Stoops at Kentucky.
“I tried to hire my brother Mike and get him on staff and that’s not going to work out, by his choice,” the Kentucky head coach said, according to Kentucky Sports Radio.
Stoops spent all of last season in the role of defensive analyst for Alabama and prior to that spent 7 years as the defensive coordinator for Oklahoma. He reportedly has enjoyed his experience with Alabama and believes his future opportunities will improve if he remains in Tuscaloosa.
“He likes what he does,” said Mark Stoops during a press conference on Monday. “He likes the learning he’s doing and the work he’s doing there with Nick at Alabama. Mike is a big picture guy, so the timing of this position and the capacity that it is, he decided to stay there. He’s going to continue to recalibrate himself and come back as a coordinator.”
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Patrick Dowd is a Reporter for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can follow him on Twitter, via Pat_Dowd77
