Alabama already lost one coordinator, Jim McElwain, to a head coaching job at Colorado State. Losing another would have been a lot to replace.
For the Tide faithful, however, it looks like they’ll keep defensive coordinator Kirby Smart around... for now, anyway.
Smart was one of a handful of candidates who reportedly interviewed for the Southern Miss job this week, including South Carolina assistant Ellis Johnson, Oklahoma State offensive coordinator Todd Monken, Southern Miss offensive coordinator Blake Anderson and Louisiana-Lafayette offensive coordinator Jay Johnson.
But sources told ESPN’s Mark Schlabach that Smart has withdrawn his name from consideration for the USM job. Smart had also been connected to openings at Ole Miss and Texas A&M, but the sources say Smart never had contact with either program. Those jobs would end up being filled by Huge Freeze and Kevin Sumlin, respectively.
Smart, who has guided the Tide’s defense to being one of, if not the best, nationally, has two years left on a contract at Alabama that pays him $850,000 annually.