Steele heads again to Alabama as defensive coordinator

Kevin Steele has agreed to a deal to grow to be Alabama’s defensive coordinator, sources advised ESPN.

This can be Steele’s third completely different stint at Alabama below Nick Saban, who now has each of his coordinator positions stuffed after hiring Tommy Rees from Notre Dame on Friday for offensive coordinator.

Steele, 64, is a 39-year teaching veteran who spent final season as Miami’s defensive coordinator. Steele was Saban’s first defensive coordinator at Alabama in 2007 and moved to defensive head coach/inside linebackers coach that subsequent season. Steele returned to Alabama in 2013 as director of participant personnel and shifted again on the sector in 2014 as linebackers coach, earlier than transferring to LSU as defensive coordinator in 2015.

Steele replaces Pete Golding, who left final month to take the Ole Miss defensive coordinator job. Saban has sometimes introduced in defensive coordinators he has coached with prior to now and who know his defensive system. Steele checks each bins and is extensively considered one of many prime recruiters in faculty soccer, having recruited the SEC footprint extensively.

In addition to Alabama and LSU, Steele has served as defensive coordinator at Auburn and Clemson. He has labored below a number of the greatest names within the faculty sport, together with Bobby Bowden, Tom Osborne, Johnny Majors, Dabo Swinney and Saban.

Steele was a Broyles Award finalist in 2017 at Auburn as the highest assistant coach in faculty soccer. He was out of teaching throughout the 2021 season after not being retained on the Auburn employees when Gus Malzahn was fired in 2020. Steele spent just a few months at Tennessee, his alma mater, as interim head coach previous to Josh Heupel being employed.

Saban additionally interviewed Todd Grantham for the defensive coordinator job, however Grantham determined to as a substitute return to the NFL with the New Orleans Saints.